Cost of living answer

Cost of Living in Madison, WI

Cost of Living in Madison, WI has an overall index of 115, 15% above the U.S. baseline of 100. The typical home value is $426,336 (Zillow ZHVI, Aug 2026); typical monthly rent is $1,616 (Zillow ZORI, Aug 2026); and median household income is $78,050 (Census ACS 2024).

Cost index: committed city housing/rent inputs and BEA 2024 metro-area price parities. Home value: Zillow ZHVI market signal as of 2026-08. Rent: Zillow ZORI market signal as of 2026-08. A place-level signal, not a personal affordability decision or financial recommendation.

Check your household fit Compare Madison

Cost vs U.S.15% aboveModeled index 115 · Zillow Aug 2026 / ACS 2024 / BEA 2024

Typical rent$1,616/moZillow ZORI · Aug 2026

Typical home value$426,336Zillow ZHVI · Aug 2026

Median household income$78,050Census ACS · 2024 place estimate

Market PressureHigh

Home prices are the main source of pressure. This describes the local market, not your household.

Rent pressure

25%

Typical annual rent divided by local median household income.

Buy pressure

5.5x

Typical home value divided by local median household income.

Common questions

What living in Madison costs, and what the data does and does not explain.

Four questions readers ask most, answered from the committed sources below. Every figure keeps its source, vintage, and limitation; none of it is personal financial advice.

Cost outside housing

How do non-housing costs here compare with the nation?

Day-to-day non-housing costs here run about 5% below the U.S. baseline.

Non-housing index95100 = U.S. baseline

Goods9420% weight

Services9920% weight

Utilities9010% weight

The index weights goods 94 (20%), services 99 (20%), and utilities 90 (10%) over the non-housing half of the model, where utilities show the widest gap below the national baseline at 90. It excludes rent and home prices, so it is not the overall Regional Price Parity and not the overall cost index. Source: BEA 2024 metropolitan-area price parities.

Housing vs state and nation

Is housing here above or below the state and the country?

Typical home value$426,336Zillow ZHVI

Typical rent$1,616/moZillow ZORI

The typical home value is $426,336 (Zillow ZHVI, Aug 2026). It is 23% above the $347,016 median across Wisconsin cities in this dataset, and 41% above the committed $303,400 U.S. baseline used site-wide (Census ACS 2019–2023).

The typical monthly rent is $1,616 (Zillow ZORI, Aug 2026). It is 28% above the $1,264 median across Wisconsin cities in this dataset, and 20% above the committed $1,348 U.S. baseline used site-wide (Census ACS 2019–2023).

The Wisconsin median is a cross-city statistic over the 158 committed city home values and 158 committed city rents (Zillow Aug 2026, HUD FMR, or Census ACS 2024 as matched per place). It is not a statewide household median and it is not appraised market data. U.S. baselines are Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians used across this site ($303,400 home value; $1,348 monthly gross rent), and have not been refreshed to the ACS 2024 city vintage or the Zillow Aug 2026 vintage. Any city-to-national gap therefore mixes vintages.

Why the numbers look like this

Which local signals explain the difference?

The committed figures line up: rent-to-income ratio, price-to-income ratio, and vacancy rate point the same way relative to their baselines (higher ratios and lower vacancy count as one direction, and their opposites as the other), and no compared figure points the other way. That is a description of this one snapshot, not a forecast.

Rent-to-income ratioAbove baseline
25% · Typical rent equals about 25% of local median household income (Zillow ZORI Aug 2026 rent × 12 ÷ Census ACS 2024 median household income). These are two place-level aggregates, not a measured household or renter burden. The Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians imply 21%.
Baseline: 21% implied by Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians
Price-to-income ratioAbove baseline
5.5x · The typical home value is 5.5 times local median household income (Zillow ZHVI Aug 2026 home value ÷ Census ACS 2024 median household income). This is a place-level ratio, not an individual affordability test. The Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians imply 3.9x.
Baseline: 3.9x implied by Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians
Vacancy rateBelow baseline
4.0% · 4.0% of all housing units here are reported vacant in Census ACS 2024. That counts every vacant unit, including seasonal, occasional-use, and other vacant homes, and it is not current for-sale or for-rent inventory. The population-weighted mean across the committed city dataset is about 8%.
Baseline: about 8% committed city-sample mean
Owner shareBelow baseline
46.0% · 46.0% of occupied units are owner-occupied in Census ACS 2024, against a committed national owner-occupied share of 64.6% (Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians). This describes tenure mix — more owners usually means a smaller rental stock, not by itself higher or lower pressure.
Baseline: 64.6% committed national owner-occupied share

These are associations inside one committed snapshot, not causal evidence. The dataset has no current listings, pending sales, sale timelines, or construction, migration, income-growth, and unit-mix fields, so nothing here proves or disproves a housing shortage: a low vacancy rate or a high rent-to-income ratio can have several explanations. Treat the figures as context for your own search, not as a cause.

Monthly budget by household size

What might a family of five spend per month here?

Estimated monthly cost for a household of five in Madison: $6,666, of which $1,616 is the exact typical rent and $5,050 is modeled non-housing spending. Everyday non-housing costs here are 5% below the U.S. baseline.

For five people the estimate is housing $1,616 + non-housing $5,050 = $6,666 per month, or about $1,333 per person before taxes and debt.

Estimated monthly cost, before income tax, debt payments, and savings
Household size	Housing (typical rent)	Non-housing	Estimated total	Per person
1 person	$1,616	$1,637	$3,253	$3,253
2 people	$1,616	$2,659	$4,275	$2,138
3 people	$1,616	$3,532	$5,148	$1,716
4 people	$1,616	$4,320	$5,936	$1,484
5 people (example)	$1,616	$5,050	$6,666	$1,333
6 people	$1,616	$5,738	$7,354	$1,226

Formula: Monthly estimate = housing base + ($3,272 × (household size ÷ 2.5)^0.7 × (non-housing index ÷ 100)). The housing base is this city's exact typical monthly rent; $3,272 is the Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians median household income ÷ 12 × the model's 50% non-housing basket share.

Inputs: housing base $1,616 (Zillow ZORI, Aug 2026); non-housing index 95 (BEA goods/services/utilities); national median household income $78,538 (Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians).

Assumptions and limitations behind this table

Model assumptions

The Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians median household income is treated as a 2.5-person reference household whose non-housing share of the basket is 50% (goods 20% + services 20% + utilities 10%).
Household size is scaled with an economy-of-scale exponent of 0.7. That exponent is a modeling assumption, not a measured equivalence scale.
Housing is held at the same exact typical rent for every household size. Larger households often rent larger units, which this estimate does not model.
The non-housing index is applied as a price level only; it does not change how much a household consumes.

Limitations

This is a modeled planning estimate, not a measured household budget, a quote, or personal financial advice.
It excludes income tax, sales tax, property tax, debt payments (including student loans and car payments), retirement saving, and one-time moving costs.
Zillow, HUD FMR (a 2-bedroom program benchmark for the 40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent, not a market median), and Census values are place- or area-level estimates with sampling error and top-coding, not exact local prices.
BEA price parities are metro-area values, or one national nonmetropolitan proxy shared by every unmatched place — never city- or state-specific.
The income baseline is one committed national value (Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians) and does not vary by city or by household composition (adults versus children).

Housing and rent: Zillow ZHVI Aug 2026 home value; Zillow ZORI Aug 2026 rent. Top-coded ACS values stay thresholds, never exact medians. Non-housing: BEA 2024 goods, services, and utilities price parities (metro-area match). Why: rent Zillow ZORI Aug 2026, home value Zillow ZHVI Aug 2026, plus Census ACS 2024 income, vacancy, and owner-occupancy fields. National baselines: Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians (not refreshed to ACS 2024 or Zillow Aug 2026), so city-to-national gaps mix vintages. Budget: modeled from the committed national median household income and this city's exact rent and BEA non-housing index; assumptions and exclusions are listed with the table. Budget is not produced when rent is top-coded.

Your Household Fit

Can your household carry the housing cost?

Start with four decisions. Open advanced assumptions only when you need to replace the local defaults.

Your Household FitNot calculated yet

Enter your income and housing plan to see a household-specific estimate.

Compare cities

Compare Madison with another place.

Search one destination and see which housing and local-cost categories change most.

Curated comparisons with Madison (4)

City details

Inspect the numbers when you need them.

Overall cost index115100 = U.S. baseline

Goods946% below baseline

Services991% below baseline

Utilities9010% below baseline

Alternatives worth comparing

Other Wisconsin cities with a useful tradeoff.

Recommendations require usable housing and income data and exclude very small places for a city of this scale.

Sun Prairie, WILower home-price pressure · Lower rent burdenRent burden22%Home / income4.9x Compare

Wauwatosa, WILower home-price pressure · Lower rent burdenRent burden20%Home / income4.2x Compare

Oak Creek, WILower home-price pressure · Lower rent burdenRent burden22%Home / income4.3x Compare

Milwaukee, WILower home-price pressure · Similar population scaleRent burden33%Home / income4.2x Compare

Fitchburg, WISimilar regional cost context · Same-state comparisonRent burden24%Home / income5.9x Compare

Similar-size Wisconsin cities

Explore all Wisconsin cities

Frequently asked questions about Madison

Mortgage benchmark baseline 2026-09-24 is past its weekly update cadence; a newer official vintage exists but is not reflected.

Living in Madison

Is Madison, WI an expensive place to live?+

Yes — Madison is about 15% more expensive than the national average, with an overall Cost Index of 115. Housing is the biggest factor: the typical home here is valued around $426,336, and monthly rents average roughly $1,616. Day-to-day costs like groceries and utilities tend to run closer to the national norm.

How does Madison fit a household housing budget?+

Start with housing. Typical monthly rent is $1,616, while local median household income is $78,050. That implies a rent-burden proxy of about 25% before utilities and other costs. Use that as a planning signal for whether the place looks manageable under your own household assumptions.

How much are taxes in Madison, WI?+

Wisconsin uses an approximate state-income-tax planning model; 7.65% is top marginal-rate context from the tax snapshot. Applying the 1.32% state-level effective owner-occupied proxy to a home worth $426,336 gives a planning estimate near $5,628 per year; it is not a city, county, parcel, or individual tax bill. State plus average local sales-tax context is around 5.72%.

How much does it cost to rent in Madison, WI?+

The typical monthly rent in Madison is around $1,616. That's about 20% higher than the $1,348 national median. For comparison, the median home value here is $426,336, so buyers should also factor in mortgage payments, property taxes, and insurance.

How much does a house cost in Madison, WI?+

The typical home value in Madison is $426,336. With 20% down and the committed 7.03% national 30-year fixed benchmark as of 2026-09-24, principal and interest are roughly $2,276/month before property tax and insurance. This is a planning estimate, not a local lender quote. Baseline is past its weekly update cadence; a newer official vintage exists but is not reflected. About 46% of residents here own their homes.

Are groceries and utilities expensive in Madison?+

Grocery prices in Madison are more affordable compared to the rest of the US (index: 94, where 100 is the national average). Utility bills (electricity, gas, water) are about typical (index: 90). Overall, these everyday costs shouldn't cause major surprises if you're moving from another similarly-sized US city.

What is Madison, WI like to live in?+

Madison is a mid-sized city with a population of about 278,001. The median age of residents is 31.8, skewing younger — often a sign of a college town or fast-growing area. The local poverty rate is 16.37%, above the national average of 12.4%.