Best PlacesWhitefish Bay, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Whitefish Bay area, 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.
Whitefish Bay ranks 4th of 50333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on transit and lowest on property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Whitefish Bay
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.
Whitefish Bay's strengths and weaknesses
Where Whitefish Bay ranks high
- TransitBetter than 100% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 100% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of towns
Where Whitefish Bay ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,303 a month, better than only 10% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 38% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Whitefish Bay
A household needs to earn about $167,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Whitefish Bay home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $165,173; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment and a 6.8% 30-year fixed rate. The rate updates weekly from Freddie Mac; property tax uses Whitefish Bay's effective rate against the median home value.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first ten years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Whitefish Bay
Whitefish Bay's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Whitefish Bay.
Who works in Whitefish Bay, and how
Work in Whitefish Bay centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Whitefish Bay
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Whitefish Bay.
What the weather is like in Whitefish Bay, month by month
Whitefish Bay sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 18. Spring and fall carry most of the comfortable stretch.
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 Whitefish Bay
General Mitchell International sits about 11 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 Whitefish Bay
Schools across Whitefish Bay average an A−, better than 91% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Richards ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Cumberland ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Lake Bluff ElementaryA · 64% proficient
Top middle schools
- Whitefish Bay MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Glen Hills MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Whitefish Bay HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Nicolet HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Whitefish Bay school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Whitefish Bay 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 Whitefish Bay against the other 50332 towns.
Common questions about living in Whitefish Bay
Is Whitefish Bay a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Whitefish Bay ranks 4th of 50333 towns. It scores highest on transit, an educated workforce, and walkability, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Whitefish Bay expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $565,383. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $165,173 median income, cost of living beats 99% of towns.
Is Whitefish Bay safe?
Whitefish Bay is safer than 42% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $335 per resident a year.
Compare Whitefish Bay with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Whitefish Bay. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Whitefish Bay 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.
Whitefish Bay detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Whitefish Bay: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Whitefish Bay: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Whitefish Bay: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Whitefish Bay: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Whitefish Bay 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.