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Chicago · Registered nurse · $98,500 · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
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Madison skyline
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#86 of 387 for you

Madison: $2,631/mo left

Move scoreB+
Alabama: $2,168 left in a typical monthArizona: $2,126 left in a typical monthArkansas: $2,400 left in a typical monthCalifornia: $1,645 left in a typical monthColorado: $2,458 left in a typical monthConnecticut: $2,294 left in a typical monthDelaware: $1,980 left in a typical monthDistrict of Columbia: $2,913 left in a typical monthFlorida: $2,204 left in a typical monthGeorgia: $1,988 left in a typical monthIdaho: $2,056 left in a typical monthIllinois: $2,569 left in a typical monthIndiana: $2,407 left in a typical monthIowa: $2,838 left in a typical monthKansas: $2,391 left in a typical monthKentucky: $2,312 left in a typical monthLouisiana: $2,486 left in a typical monthMaine: $1,949 left in a typical monthMaryland: $2,359 left in a typical monthMassachusetts: $2,076 left in a typical monthMichigan: $2,360 left in a typical monthMinnesota: $2,600 left in a typical monthMississippi: $2,011 left in a typical monthMissouri: $2,581 left in a typical monthMontana: $2,222 left in a typical monthNebraska: $2,541 left in a typical monthNevada: $2,296 left in a typical monthNew Hampshire: $2,794 left in a typical monthNew Jersey: $1,864 left in a typical monthNew Mexico: $2,037 left in a typical monthNew York: $2,320 left in a typical monthNorth Carolina: $2,194 left in a typical monthNorth Dakota: $3,238 left in a typical monthOhio: $2,583 left in a typical monthOklahoma: $2,455 left in a typical monthOregon: $1,624 left in a typical monthPennsylvania: $2,380 left in a typical monthRhode Island: $2,094 left in a typical monthSouth Carolina: $2,108 left in a typical monthSouth Dakota: $2,780 left in a typical monthTennessee: $2,530 left in a typical monthTexas: $2,620 left in a typical monthUtah: $1,822 left in a typical monthVermont: $2,118 left in a typical monthVirginia: $2,326 left in a typical monthWashington: $2,473 left in a typical monthWest Virginia: $2,277 left in a typical monthWisconsin: $2,642 left in a typical monthWyoming: $2,849 left in a typical month
Less leftMore left
  • Property tax 1.60%
  • Rent under 30% of pay
  • Real winters

From your Chicago paycheck, you'd keep +$205/mo versus Chicago.

Compare

Versus Chicago.

Take the quizRank metros from Madison

Left each month

$2,631

Versus Chicago

+$205/mo

+$2,460 a year

Local pay

$93,810

This job, this city

Top things to do in Madison

More in Madison
Paycheck to pocket
Monthly pay$7,818
Tax$1,942
Rent$1,330
Other bills$1,915
Left$2,631

Next

$2,631 / mo left

Alabama: $2,168 left in a typical monthArizona: $2,126 left in a typical monthArkansas: $2,400 left in a typical monthCalifornia: $1,645 left in a typical monthColorado: $2,458 left in a typical monthConnecticut: $2,294 left in a typical monthDelaware: $1,980 left in a typical monthDistrict of Columbia: $2,913 left in a typical monthFlorida: $2,204 left in a typical monthGeorgia: $1,988 left in a typical monthIdaho: $2,056 left in a typical monthIllinois: $2,569 left in a typical monthIndiana: $2,407 left in a typical monthIowa: $2,838 left in a typical monthKansas: $2,391 left in a typical monthKentucky: $2,312 left in a typical monthLouisiana: $2,486 left in a typical monthMaine: $1,949 left in a typical monthMaryland: $2,359 left in a typical monthMassachusetts: $2,076 left in a typical monthMichigan: $2,360 left in a typical monthMinnesota: $2,600 left in a typical monthMississippi: $2,011 left in a typical monthMissouri: $2,581 left in a typical monthMontana: $2,222 left in a typical monthNebraska: $2,541 left in a typical monthNevada: $2,296 left in a typical monthNew Hampshire: $2,794 left in a typical monthNew Jersey: $1,864 left in a typical monthNew Mexico: $2,037 left in a typical monthNew York: $2,320 left in a typical monthNorth Carolina: $2,194 left in a typical monthNorth Dakota: $3,238 left in a typical monthOhio: $2,583 left in a typical monthOklahoma: $2,455 left in a typical monthOregon: $1,624 left in a typical monthPennsylvania: $2,380 left in a typical monthRhode Island: $2,094 left in a typical monthSouth Carolina: $2,108 left in a typical monthSouth Dakota: $2,780 left in a typical monthTennessee: $2,530 left in a typical monthTexas: $2,620 left in a typical monthUtah: $1,822 left in a typical monthVermont: $2,118 left in a typical monthVirginia: $2,326 left in a typical monthWashington: $2,473 left in a typical monthWest Virginia: $2,277 left in a typical monthWisconsin: $2,642 left in a typical monthWyoming: $2,849 left in a typical monthChicagoMadison
Less leftMore left
Madison · this breakdownChicago · home

The month

One earner. 1 bd.

See full breakdown
  • Taxes$1,942
  • Rent$1,330
  • Other living costs$1,915
  • Left over$2,631

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
$1,330
Groceries
$388
Getting around
$509
Healthcare
$437
Utilities and internet
$243
Everything else
$340
Total spending
$3,245

Left over each month

$7,818 gross, minus $1,942 in tax and $3,245 in living costs.

$2,631

County by county

4 counties. Rent is what residents pay, not asking rent.

Population, rent, home value, income and commute by county in Madison, WI
CountyPeopleMedian rent2-bed rentHome valueIncomeCommute
Dane CountyWI565k83%$1,345$1,408$366,100$88,10821 min
Columbia CountyWI58k9%$926$986$258,700$82,79227 min
Green CountyWI37k5%$851$865$236,900$80,24825 min
Iowa CountyWI24k3%$941$922$248,100$83,37227 min

Census ACS 2023. “—” is not published.

Working remotely

If the paycheck stays the same

One adult, one bedroom, $120,000 held flat in every city. That leaves $4,048 a month here after tax and rent. One-bedroom rent in that math is $1,330.

Work from home
15.5% of workers
ACS 2024 1-year
Home internet
80.2% of households
Cable, fiber optic, or DSL
Paid to move, remote job
No open remote grant on this metro

Worked-from-home share is Census B08006_017E divided by all workers (ACS 2024 1-year, or ACS 2023 5-year when the 1-year table has no metro). Internet is households with cable, fiber optic, or DSL, from ACS 2023 5-year.

Best cities for remote workersMoving from Wisconsin

USAJOBS

Federal jobs that pay relocation here

2 open postings marked relocation-eligible. Fetched October 10, 2026.

  • Heavy Mobile Equipment Repairer

    88th Readiness Division (U.S. Army Reserve Command) · $29.34–$34.21 an hour

    Madison, WI · Madison, WI · Closes October 23, 2026

  • PUBLIC NOTICE- DEA Criminal Investigators

    Special Agent Recruitment (Drug Enforcement Administration) · $48,854–$82,938 a year

    Ponce, Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico · Tyler, TX · +254 more · Tyler, TX, Waco, TX, St. George, UT +184 · Closes March 16, 2027

All federal jobs that pay relocation

The place

188 sunny days. July high 82°F. January nights 12°F. 21 min commute. A car per adult.

Weather
188 sunny days, 82°F in July, 12°F January nights
Getting around
A car per adult
Average commute
21 minutes each way
Size
690k people
Buying instead
Median home $344,600. About $2,518/mo with 20% down.
Taxes
Wisconsin income tax. Sales tax 5.7%, property tax 1.60%.

Fit

Money left over
68
Sun and mild weather
45
Being in a big city
62
Public school districts in Madison

12 largest districts, NCES 2024-2025. This is districts, not every school. Students, school count, and pupils per teacher.

Public school districts in Madison
DistrictCityStudentsSchoolsPupils / teacher
Madison Metropolitan School DistrictMadison25,1555411.6
Sun Prairie Area School DistrictSun Prairie8,5961612.1
Middleton-Cross Plains Area School DistrictMiddleton7,1671213.1
McFarland School DistrictMcFarland5,921917.2
Verona Area School DistrictVerona5,7961113.7
Waunakee Community School DistrictWaunakee4,415712.4
De Forest Area School DistrictDeForest4,246713.9
Oregon School DistrictOregon4,186812.8
Monona Grove School DistrictMonona3,672712.3
Stoughton Area School DistrictStoughton2,735612.2
Mount Horeb Area School DistrictMount Horeb2,298613.7
Monroe School DistrictMonroe2,149513.1

Chicago vs Madison

Full comparison

More on this city

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Moving from Madison

Take-home by job in Madison

Pay and leftover for every job in Madison

Other Wisconsin metros

All Wisconsin metros

Questions

How is take-home pay in Madison calculated?

Madison is in Wisconsin, which taxes wage income. Take-home is a local salary minus federal tax, payroll tax, and that state tax. Leftover is what remains after rent.

What does rent cost in Madison?

About $1,330 for a one-bedroom and $1,583 for a two-bedroom in Madison, WI.

How do I compare Madison with another city?

Put Madison next to another city on the same job and household. The gap is the tax bill and the rent.

Also look at

Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.

Compare Madison