Los Angeles, CA → Madison, WI
You'd keep $925 more a month in Madison
+$11,100 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 234 households moved Los Angeles → Madison (avg AGI $70,295). 178 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Los Angeles | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,750 | $7,813 | −$937 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,378 | $1,940 | −$438 |
| Take-home pay | $6,372 | $5,872 | −$499 |
| Rent | $2,276 | $1,335 | −$941 |
| Getting around | $674 | $509 | −$165 |
| Groceries | $476 | $388 | −$88 |
| Healthcare | $536 | $437 | −$99 |
| Utilities | $298 | $243 | −$55 |
| Everything else | $417 | $340 | −$77 |
| Left over | $1,697 | $2,622 | +$925 |
To break even in Madison, you'd need to earn
$76,500
Household gross, versus $105,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Los Angeles does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,921
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.2% in Los Angeles, 24.8% in Madison.
More about Madison
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
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 → Los Angeles →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.