City comparison
Houston, 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 20 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 Houston, TX to Madison, WI takes about 1 h 57 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.
Houston has a population of 2,296,253, vs 268,516 in Madison — about 8.6× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 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 | Houston | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $1,291/mo | 4.5% higher in Madison |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $326,600 | 39.0% higher in Madison |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $74,895 | 23.9% higher in Madison |
| Groceries index | 100.4 | 94.0 | 6.8% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 96.3 | 90.0 | 7.0% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 99.2 | 3.6% higher in Madison |
| Healthcare index | 95.2 | 99.4 | 4.4% 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 Houston, you'd need $97,879 in Madison to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Madison, WI is about 2.1% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 4% higher in Houston than in Madison. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $78,303 in Madison to keep the same standard of living.