What salary do you need to live in Racine, WI?

What housing costs in Racine

Renters in Racine pay a median $1,076 a month for two bedrooms. Size matters: one bedroom is $819, three bedrooms $1,277, so going from the smallest to the largest of the three adds $5,496 a year.

Homeowners in Racine report a median home value of $251,400. That is only 3.2× the area's median household income of $78,096, a low ratio by national standards.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 96.0 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Racine has the buying power of roughly $104,209 at national average prices.

Income needed for each grade in Racine

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $33,000, Okay at $66,000 and Comfortable at $133,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 10% of income and the median home is 1.9× income.

Royal, the top band, starts at $394,000. At that income rent is 3% of pay and the median home 0.6× income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Racine.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Racine

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 53 and a three-bedroom 46, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

Read down the two-bedroom column and the first Comfortable row is $150,000, consistent with the $133,000 line above.

How Racine ranks among 387 metros

Out of 387 metros, Racine has the 147th highest price parity and the 236th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it near the middle on overall prices and in the middle half on rent.

Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY ($1,076) and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR ($1,075) bracket Racine on two-bedroom rent.

Racine in a Wisconsin context

Compared with Wisconsin as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Racine is 3% lower ($1,076 vs. $1,106) and the median home is 6% lower ($251,400 vs. $266,500).

The Wisconsin figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $133,000 against $133,000 for Racine.

The nearest matches in Wisconsin, judged on rent and price parity together, are Janesville-Beloit, WI, Eau Claire, WI, and Appleton, WI.

The median Racine household

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $78,096, which grades Okay (50) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Put differently, Racine's typical household is $54,904 below the $133,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. For Wisconsin as a whole, the median household income of $77,485 scores 50 against statewide rents. Keep in mind a household median often combines two incomes.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.