Madison, WI → Denver, CO
You'd keep $27 more a month in Denver
+$324 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 257 households moved Madison → Denver (avg AGI $79,268). 148 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Madison | Denver | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,792 | $8,259 | +$467 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,933 | $2,060 | +$127 |
| Take-home pay | $5,859 | $6,199 | +$341 |
| Rent | $1,335 | $1,490 | +$155 |
| Getting around | $509 | $551 | +$42 |
| Groceries | $388 | $420 | +$32 |
| Healthcare | $437 | $473 | +$36 |
| Utilities | $243 | $263 | +$20 |
| Everything else | $340 | $368 | +$28 |
| Left over | $2,609 | $2,636 | +$27 |
To break even in Denver, you'd need to earn
$98,500
Household gross, versus $93,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Madison does now.
The tax difference alone
+$139
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.8% in Madison, 24.9% in Denver.
More about Denver
Madison, WI in full
A university town with big-city wages and small-city commutes.
Denver, CO in full
Mountains in an hour, 245 sunny days, and a flat 4.4% state tax.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Denver on Denver wages.
Denver → Madison →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.