Sheboygan cost of living
Prices in the Sheboygan, WI metro area run at 94.0 against a national average of 100, ranking it #181 of 387 metros. Rents there sit at 80.5.
What drives the number
Prices in Sheboygan run at 94.0 where the national average is 100, so about 6 per cent below the country as a whole. It ranks #181 of 387 metro areas. It is priced almost exactly like Wisconsin as a whole, which is unusual for a metro area.
Housing is unusually cheap relative to everything else here. Rents sit at 80.5 against goods at 93.8 and other services at 87.6, so the overall figure of 94.0 understates how affordable the housing itself is. It is the opposite of the usual pattern, where housing is what makes a place expensive. Goods at 93.8 are themselves 6.2 points off national, which is a wide gap for a category that is mostly shipped in.
The number is most useful in reverse: a job here can pay less in cash and still leave a household better off, by roughly 6 per cent before anything else is considered.
The vertical line is the national average of 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
What the biggest local jobs are really worth
The same pay buys different amounts in different places, so a salary quoted in Sheboygan is not comparable to one quoted elsewhere until it is divided by the local parity. These are the occupations that employ the most people here, with the quoted median alongside what that median is worth at national prices.
| Occupation | Employed | Median pay | Worth nationally | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators | 1,610 | $42,700 | $45,426 | $42,210 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 1,500 | $43,640 | $46,426 | $38,940 |
| Food Batchmakers | 1,410 | $48,130 | $51,202 | $40,790 |
| Cashiers | 1,360 | $29,570 | $31,457 | $31,190 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 1,310 | $35,300 | $37,553 | $34,900 |
| Retail Salespersons | 1,190 | $33,680 | $35,830 | $34,580 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 1,170 | $28,580 | $30,404 | $30,480 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 1,120 | $31,940 | $33,979 | $37,090 |
Pay from the BLS metro survey, adjusted by dividing by the metro parity of 94.0.
Nearby metro areas
| Metro area | All items | Rents | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 104.8 | 111.8 | #31 |
| Kenosha | 101.1 | 95.8 | #66 |
| Madison | 97.3 | 99.7 | #123 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha | 96.9 | 97.1 | #130 |
| Racine-Mount Pleasant | 96.0 | 92.0 | #145 |
| Janesville-Beloit | 93.7 | 79.6 | #190 |
Sheboygan: common questions
Is Sheboygan expensive?
Prices are 6% below the national average, a parity of 94.0 where the country is 100. It ranks #181 of the 387 metro areas BEA measures. Against Wisconsin as a whole it is 0.1 points less expensive.
What salary do you need in Sheboygan?
The median worker there earns $49,300, which buys what $52,447 buys nationally once local prices are taken into account. Comparing a salary offer between cities without this adjustment is comparing nothing useful.
Is housing the reason?
Usually. Rents here are at 80.5 against goods at 93.8. Goods barely vary between American cities because most are shipped and priced nationally; housing varies enormously, and it dominates any cost of living comparison.