Green Bay vs Madison leftover
Moving to Madison costs you $270 a month
$2,606/mo leftover in Madison vs $2,876 in Green Bay after tax and rent ($270 less). −$3,240 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Green Bay leftover
$2,876
a month after tax and rent
Madison leftover
$2,606
−$270 vs Green Bay
Compare Green Bay to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Green Bay.
Monthly gap
Green Bay → Madison
$270
less / month in Green Bay
$2,606 in Madison · $2,876 in Green Bay · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 212 households moved Green Bay → Madison (avg AGI $59,222). 137 went the other way. The whole move →
−$270 / mo
| Per month | Green Bay | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $7,780 | +$280 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,831 | $1,929 | +$98 |
| Take-home pay | $5,669 | $5,851 | +$182 |
| Rent | $868 | $1,330 | +$462 |
| Getting around | $556 | $509 | −$47 |
| Groceries | $378 | $388 | +$10 |
| Healthcare | $425 | $437 | +$12 |
| Utilities | $236 | $243 | +$7 |
| Everything else | $330 | $340 | +$10 |
| Left over | $2,876 | $2,606 | −$270 |
To break even in Madison, you'd need to earn
$98,500
Household gross, versus $90,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Green Bay does now.
The tax difference alone
−$178
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.4% in Green Bay, 24.8% in Madison.
More about Madison
Green Bay, WI in full
State income tax topping out at 7.65%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,033 and 193 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Madison, WI in full
A university town with big-city wages and small-city commutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Madison on Madison wages.
Madison → Green Bay →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Madison than Green Bay?
A one-bedroom is about $868 in Green Bay versus $1,330 in Madison. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $270 a month lower in Madison. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Madison have state income tax?
Madison is in Wisconsin, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Green Bay to Madison?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Wisconsin tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Green Bay and Madison moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.