Racine composite
53.6 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Racine vs Wausau
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI and Wausau, WI side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 53.6
- Racine Life Score
- B
- Racine grade
- 61.1
- Wausau Life Score
- A-
- Wausau grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Racine scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Wausau on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Racine vs Wausau across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Racine Wausau ◗
cost of living
38
58
wages
60
56
rent
60
73
safety
60
60
schools
48
49
childcare
40
39
environment
73
96
Racine and Wausau differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Racine has a cost-of-living index of 96.0 vs Wausau's 92.7 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $66,191 in Racine and $63,772 in Wausau. A 2-bedroom averages $1,235/mo vs $1,147/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Racine vs Wausau Comparison
Racine (WI) and Wausau (WI) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 96.0 for Racine against 92.7 for Wausau, a 3.3-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,235/mo in Racine and $1,147/mo in Wausau, a $88/mo difference that compounds to $1,056 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $66,191 across 70,050 jobs in Racine against $63,772 across 63,730 jobs in Wausau. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Racine carries the same local purchasing power as $96,551 in Wausau - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 279.6 per 100,000 residents in WI vs 279.6 in WI, with property-crime rates of 1156.8 and 1156.8 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: WI lists 2,205 public schools at a 14.4:1 student-teacher ratio, while WI lists 2,205 schools at 14.4:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $11,256/yr in the Racine area versus $11,256/yr in Wausau - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Racine and Wausau are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Wausau composite
61.1 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
3.3 pts
Racine vs Wausau BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$88 /mo
Racine priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Racine
Racine composite (Grade B)
Wausau
Wausau composite (Grade A-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Racine | Wausau |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 96.0 | 92.7 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.8 |
| Services | 90.0 | 90.0 |
| Rents | 92.0 | 71.5 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Wausau gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Racine?
$
Equivalent in Wausau:
$96,551
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Racine: 96.0, Wausau: 92.7, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Racine | Wausau |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $851/mo | $791/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $988/mo | $889/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,235/mo | $1,147/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,592/mo | $1,511/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,962/mo | $1,519/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Racine | Wausau |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $66,191 | $63,772 |
| Total Employment | 70,050 | 63,730 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Racine (WI) | Wausau (WI) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 279.6 | 279.6 |
| Property Crime | 1156.8 | 1156.8 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,205 | 2,205 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.4:1 | 14.4:1 |
| Charter Schools | 10.7% | 10.7% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $11,256/yr | $11,256/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $10,203/yr | $10,203/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $10,203/yr | $10,203/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 991 | 991 |
| Water Systems | 977 | 977 |
| Superfund Sites | 46 | 46 |
| Water Violations | 2,233 | 2,233 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Racine | Wausau |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.0 | 37.0 |
| Good Air Days | 76.1% | 85.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 11 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 36/100 | 36/100 |
| Total Violations | 285,161 | 285,161 |
| Health-Based Violations | 58,688 | 58,688 |
| Systems with Violations | 72.1% | 72.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 454 | 454 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 51/100 | 51/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 59.1 | 59.1 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 62.0 | 62.0 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Racine more expensive than Wausau? ▼
Racine has a cost of living index of 96.0 compared to Wausau's 92.7 (national average = 100). Racine is 3.3 points above Wausau on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Racine and Wausau? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,235/mo in Racine vs $1,147/mo in Wausau, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $851/mo to $791/mo.
How do salaries compare between Racine and Wausau? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $66,191 in Racine and $63,772 in Wausau, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Racine has the same purchasing power as $96,551 in Wausau.
Is Racine or Wausau safer? ▼
At the state level, WI has a violent crime rate of 279.6 per 100,000 residents compared to WI's 279.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1156.8 vs 1156.8 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Racine and Wausau? ▼
WI has 2,205 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1, while WI has 2,205 schools at 14.4:1. Charter schools make up 10.7% of WI schools vs 10.7% in WI. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial