Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Madison's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Madison?
Your $100,000 in Madison has the same purchasing power as $102,218 in the average US city. You'd need $2,218 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Madison's cost index of 98, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Madison usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: low unemployment, plenty of openings, on the calmer side of the national distribution, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
At about 2.6% unemployment, Madison's labor market is running on the tight side. Easier to land a role, easier to negotiate, easier to leave one job for a better one — the practical things that matter when you're actually looking.
Madison reports about 2,725 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Madison's air quality index averages about 41 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Madison is about 20 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
59% of adults 25 and over in Madison hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Madison's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Madison does winter the real way. Averages around 15°F keep snow on the ground for weeks at a time, and lakes and rivers tend to freeze hard enough to walk on.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in Madison averages roughly 15°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Madison runs about 80°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 6, give or take a half-zone. Madison's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 6 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Madison is at about 925 feet (282 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Average for an American city. Madison's reported crime rate of about 2,725 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Roughly average. Madison's cost-of-living index is 98, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Not really — Madison is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 20 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Transit Score is 43 out of 100. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $68,481 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Madison runs about $1,291/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.