Rank #2 of 33
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
10.9
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$2.19
Avg taco price
$23.90
Median hourly wage (2024)
$2.50
Fast-casual taqueria
$1.89
Taco Bell crunchy taco
Milwaukee sits above the national average. An hour of local work buys 10.9 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (+1.6 vs national average).
Local note
Milwaukee's taco scene is anchored in Walker's Point along South 5th and Cesar Chavez Drive, where a handful of decades-old taquerias serve a sizable Mexican-American community. Prices are some of the lowest in the country, with bundled deals like 5-for-$10 a Walker's Point staple.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Walker's Point — El Tapatio (~$2/taco, 5-for-$10), Tacos El Charrito, Taqueria Buenavista, Mazorca Tacos. Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $1.89 (low-cost market).
Average taco price ($2.19) is $0.58 below the national average of $2.77.
How this is calculated. Tacos per hour = median hourly wage ÷ average taco price.
Average taco price is the mean of the fast-casual taqueria anchor and the local Taco Bell crunchy taco price.
Wages come from BLS OEWS, May 2024, MSA-level median for all occupations.
Full methodology.