Best PlacesNorth Division, Milwaukee, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Division, Milwaukee, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Division, Milwaukee ranks 5,801st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Division, 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.
North Division, Milwaukee's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Division, Milwaukee ranks high
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where North Division, Milwaukee ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- School gradeF, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Division, Milwaukee
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Division, Milwaukee home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $32,908; 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 North Division, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Division, Milwaukee
North Division, Milwaukee runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Division, Milwaukee.
Who works in North Division, Milwaukee, and how
Work in North Division, Milwaukee centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in North Division, Milwaukee
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Division, Milwaukee.
What the weather is like in North Division, Milwaukee, month by month
North Division, Milwaukee sees roughly 96 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 North Division, Milwaukee
General Mitchell International sits about 8 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 North Division, Milwaukee
Schools across North Division, Milwaukee average an F, better than 5% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Milwaukee College Preparatory School: Lola Rowe North CampusD · 17% proficient
- Hopkins Lloyd Community SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Jackson ElementaryD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Andrew S Douglas MiddleF · 5% proficient
- Roosevelt MiddleF · 5% proficient
- King International Baccalaureate MiddleF · 3% proficient
Top high schools
- North Division HighF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Division, Milwaukee school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Division, 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 North Division, Milwaukee against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Division, Milwaukee
Is North Division, Milwaukee a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Division, Milwaukee ranks 5,801st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, low disaster risk, and heat safety, and lowest on crime and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Division, Milwaukee expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,150. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $32,908 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is North Division, Milwaukee safe?
North Division, Milwaukee is safer than 0% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $2,127 per resident a year.
Compare North Division, Milwaukee with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Division, Milwaukee. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Division, 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.
North Division, Milwaukee detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Division, Milwaukee: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Division, Milwaukee: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Division, Milwaukee: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Division, Milwaukee: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Division, 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.