#24 of 66 for you
Madison, WI
A university town with big-city wages and small-city commutes.
Left over monthly
$2,626
Versus Chicago
+$246/mo
+$2,952 a year
Local pay for your job
$93,810
Local wages run 0% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$1,942
- Rent$1,335
- Other living costs$1,915
- Left over$2,626
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $93,810
- Federal income tax
- −$12,252
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$7,176
- State income tax (WI)
- −$3,874
- Take-home pay
- $70,507
- Effective tax rate
- 24.8%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,335
- Groceries
- $388
- Getting around
- $509
- Healthcare
- $437
- Utilities and internet
- $243
- Everything else
- $340
- Total spending
- $3,250
Left over each month
$7,818 gross, minus $1,942 in tax and $3,250 in living costs.
$2,626
What living here is like
- Weather
- 188 sunny days, 82°F in July, 12°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 21 minutes each way
- Size
- 690k people
- Buying instead
- Median home $344,600 — roughly $2,518/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- Wisconsin income tax. Sales tax 5.7%, property tax 1.60%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 66
- Sun and mild weather
- 45
- Access to the outdoors
- 72
- City life and culture
- 62
- A short commute
- 85
Chicago vs Madison, line by line
Same job, same household, both tax codes applied.
Open the comparison →Also worth a look
- Seattle, WA$3,406/mo
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
- Austin, TX$3,176/mo
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
- Houston, TX$3,159/mo
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
- Dallas, TX$3,044/mo
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.