City comparison
Austin, TX is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Madison, WI in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,200 miles, or about 21 hours (about 2 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Austin, TX to Madison, WI takes about 1 h 59 min, covering roughly 1,000 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Austin has a population of 958,202, vs 268,516 in Madison — about 3.6× larger by population. By land area, Austin covers about 325 sq mi vs 84 sq mi for Madison.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Austin | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549/mo | $1,291/mo | 20.0% higher in Austin |
| Median home value | $461,500 | $326,600 | 41.3% higher in Austin |
| Median household income | $86,556 | $74,895 | 15.6% higher in Austin |
| Groceries index | 94.2 | 94.0 | ≈ equal (Austin slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 83.2 | 90.0 | 8.2% higher in Madison |
| Transportation index | 96.6 | 99.2 | 2.6% higher in Madison |
| Healthcare index | 96.1 | 99.4 | 3.4% higher in Madison |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Austin, you'd need $93,109 in Madison to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Madison, WI is about 6.9% cheaper overall than Austin, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 21% higher in Austin than in Madison. If you earn $80,000 in Austin, you'd need about $74,487 in Madison to keep the same standard of living.