Best PlacesGolden Valley, Milwaukee, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Golden Valley, Milwaukee, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Golden Valley, Milwaukee ranks 1,460th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Golden Valley, Milwaukee
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Golden Valley, Milwaukee's strengths and weaknesses
Where Golden Valley, Milwaukee ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Golden Valley, Milwaukee ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 35% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,303 a month, better than only 38% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 43% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Golden Valley, Milwaukee
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Golden Valley, Milwaukee home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,516, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Golden Valley, Milwaukee's effective rate of 1.86%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Golden Valley, Milwaukee
Golden Valley, Milwaukee runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Golden Valley, Milwaukee.
Who works in Golden Valley, Milwaukee, and how
Work in Golden Valley, Milwaukee centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Golden Valley, Milwaukee
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Golden Valley, Milwaukee.
What the weather is like in Golden Valley, Milwaukee, month by month
Golden Valley, Milwaukee sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 55° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 61° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Golden Valley, Milwaukee
General Mitchell International sits about 12 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.9 million passengers in 2025, with 66 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Golden Valley, Milwaukee
Schools across Golden Valley, Milwaukee average a D+, better than 17% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Wauwatosa Montessori SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Milwaukee German ImmersionC+ · 37% proficient
- Ninety-fifth Street ElementaryD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Whitman MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- West HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Milwaukee School Of LanguagesD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Golden Valley, Milwaukee school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Golden Valley, Milwaukee measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Golden Valley, Milwaukee against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Golden Valley, Milwaukee
Is Golden Valley, Milwaukee a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Golden Valley, Milwaukee ranks 1,460th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and civic engagement, and lowest on property taxes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Golden Valley, Milwaukee expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $222,086. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $80,516 median income, cost of living beats 63% of neighborhoods.
Is Golden Valley, Milwaukee safe?
Yes, Golden Valley, Milwaukee is safer than 78% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $305 per resident a year.
Compare Golden Valley, Milwaukee with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Golden Valley, Milwaukee. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Golden Valley, Milwaukee represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Golden Valley, Milwaukee detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Golden Valley, Milwaukee: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Golden Valley, Milwaukee: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Golden Valley, Milwaukee: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Golden Valley, Milwaukee: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Golden Valley, Milwaukee detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.