Madison Cost of Living

What living in Madison costs

Madison runs at 0.99x the US national average — 51 of the 99 other metros tracked here cost more, 43 cost less. A one-bedroom goes for about $1,350 a month, or $16,200 a year, and the median home sits near $390,000.

The price-to-rent ratio here is roughly 24, which is high. Above about 20, renting and investing the down payment usually beats buying over a normal holding period — the purchase price is steep relative to what the same property earns as a rental.

Working and living here

Madison is a metro of roughly 0.7M and growing steadily, running on state government, higher education, health insurance/biotech. Larger employers include University of Wisconsin-Madison, State of Wisconsin, Epic Systems.

Wisconsin taxes income at the state level, and Madison adds no separate city tax. Cost-of-living indexes exclude income tax entirely, so compare after-tax figures rather than index ratios when weighing this metro against one in a no-income-tax state.

Getting around: Madison is served by limited transit. Budget for a car — around $9,000 a year all-in once insurance, fuel, maintenance and parking are counted, a cost the index assumes but does not itemise.

Climate: Cold continental climate: January lows near 13°F, July highs near 81°F.

Epic Systems, one of the country's largest health-records software employers, is based in suburban Verona just outside Madison; the metro consistently posts some of the lowest unemployment rates in the US.