Best PlacesMilford, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Milford, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Milford ranks 1,558th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Milford
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.
Milford's strengths and weaknesses
Where Milford ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of towns
- Household income$134,409 median, better than 96% of towns
Where Milford ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 21% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Milford
A household needs to earn about $138,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Milford home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $134,409; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Milford's effective rate of 1.16%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Milford
Milford runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Milford.
Who works in Milford, and how
Work in Milford centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Milford
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Milford.
What the weather is like in Milford, month by month
Milford sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 22° | 15° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Milford
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around Milford
Schools across Milford average a C+, better than 50% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Mills ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Waterloo ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lake Mills MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Waterloo IntermediateD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake Mills HighC · 33% proficient
- Waterloo HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Milford school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Milford 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 Milford against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Milford
Is Milford a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Milford ranks 1,558th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, what local pay buys, and civic engagement, and lowest on walkability and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Milford expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $504,333. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $134,409 median income, cost of living beats 98% of towns.
Is Milford safe?
Yes, Milford is safer than 98% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $134 per resident a year.
Compare Milford with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Milford. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Milford 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.
Milford detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Milford: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Milford: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Milford: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Milford: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Milford 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.