Living in Oak Creek, WI

Milwaukee County

Oak Creek is a genuinely fast-growing Lake Michigan-adjacent Milwaukee County suburb south of Milwaukee -- one of the state's and county's fastest-growing cities per this pass's research (+1.08% annually), a real, distinct growth trajectory contrasted against this batch's Greenfield (slight decline) and Franklin (fully built-out). A rural farming township from 1840 to 1890, Oak Creek was developed as an industrial area by Milwaukee businessmen exploiting its railroad and Lake Michigan access starting in 1890-91; Wisconsin Electric's power plant began operating in 1953, a pivotal point in the city's growth from under 5,000 residents (1955) to nearly 39,000 today. Oak Creek is genuinely, distinctly home to the state's first IKEA, an Amazon fulfillment center, and the Astronautics Corporation of America -- a real, specific major-employer mix distinct from every other market in this five-city Wisconsin batch. This record also discloses, with care and without sensationalizing detail, a real and significant part of Oak Creek's modern history: on August 5, 2012, a gunman killed six people and wounded four others (a seventh victim later died of injuries in 2020) at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin -- one of the deadliest attacks on a place of worship in modern US history. The Sikh community has maintained an ongoing annual memorial tradition in the years since. Oak Creek's home values carried a real, disclosed cross-source tension this pass ($386,000-$390,023, with an apparent YoY-direction discrepancy between sources), both above Wisconsin's own statewide median. Its median effective property tax rate (1.70%, Ownwell) produces this batch's highest dollar-figure median annual tax bill ($5,485), reflecting above-average home values on top of an above-average rate. Schools report real, positive figures this pass (96% graduation rate, incident rates ~40% below the state average). Oak Creek's genuinely young, working-age population profile is why this record uses best-areas rather than retiring as its ninth topic.

Explore Oak Creek in depth

• Moving to Oak Creek: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Oak Creek
• Housing in Oak Creek
• Taxes & Insurance in Oak Creek
• Climate in Oak Creek
• Schools & Families in Oak Creek
• Healthcare & Safety in Oak Creek
• Pros and Cons of Living in Oak Creek
• Best Areas to Live in Oak Creek

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits families and working professionals drawn to Oak Creek's real, distinct major-employer base, direct Lake Michigan access, and strong-performing schools, who budget directly for this batch's highest dollar-figure property tax bill.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers seeking this batch's most affordable entry point -- Oak Creek's home values and tax bills both run above several other markets in this batch -- or for anyone wanting a single, independently verified numeric crime index rather than the police department's own self-reported trend.