When it comes to Midwestern cities, it’s hard to beat Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin. Milwaukee, which is located in southeastern Wisconsin, lies on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan and offers no shortage of delicious restaurants, outdoor activities, architecture, museums, and walkable arts studios and galleries. In addition to being a city with a plethora of career and living opportunities, Milwaukee is also one of the more affordable Midwestern cities, with the average cost of living here being around 14% lower than Chicago, which lies around 90 miles south.
The city itself has a population of around 563,000 people, but there are about a million people living right outside the metropolitan area in one of the many suburbs of Milwaukee County. While there are several nearby suburbs in both Milwaukee County and neighboring counties, there are a few that stand out as the best. We considered a number of factors while calculating these best suburbs outside of Milwaukee — including location, the quality of local schools, crime rates, employment statistics, and more.
Though it’s challenging to put together a definitive guide of the top Milwaukee suburbs, our picks here are a great place to start for both locals and travelers interested in exploring the best of the state. As a bonus, these final five cities are close to downtown Milwaukee and a short drive from the city’s main airport, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Of course, any Wisconsinites reading can always argue for their own!
Brookfield
The town of Brookfield took home the first-place spot for best suburb of Milwaukee by both Niche and Fulton Grace Realty. Although the city technically lies within Waukesha County, it is located around 14 miles west of Milwaukee and considered part of the metropolitan hub. Brookfield has a population of around 41,000 people and has been a major hub for people to live just outside the city for nearly a century.…