Madison vs Eau Claire leftover
Moving to Eau Claire costs you $92 a month
$2,522/mo leftover in Eau Claire vs $2,614 in Madison after tax and rent ($92 less). −$1,104 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Madison leftover
$2,614
a month after tax and rent
Eau Claire leftover
$2,522
−$92 vs Madison
Compare Madison to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Madison.
Monthly gap
Madison → Eau Claire
$92
less / month in Madison
$2,522 in Eau Claire · $2,614 in Madison · 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, 85 households moved Madison → Eau Claire (avg AGI $49,659). 131 went the other way. The whole move →
−$92 / mo
| Per month | Madison | Eau Claire | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,792 | $6,989 | −$802 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,933 | $1,652 | −$280 |
| Take-home pay | $5,859 | $5,337 | −$522 |
| Rent | $1,330 | $911 | −$419 |
| Getting around | $509 | $535 | +$26 |
| Groceries | $388 | $378 | −$10 |
| Healthcare | $437 | $425 | −$12 |
| Utilities | $243 | $236 | −$7 |
| Everything else | $340 | $330 | −$10 |
| Left over | $2,614 | $2,522 | −$92 |
To break even in Eau Claire, you'd need to earn
$85,500
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
+$510
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.8% in Madison, 23.6% in Eau Claire.
More about Eau Claire
Madison, WI in full
A university town with big-city wages and small-city commutes.
Eau Claire, WI in full
State income tax topping out at 7.65%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,085 and 184 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Eau Claire on Eau Claire wages.
Eau Claire → Madison →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Eau Claire than Madison?
A one-bedroom is about $1,330 in Madison versus $911 in Eau Claire. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $92 a month lower in Eau Claire. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Eau Claire have state income tax?
Eau Claire is in Wisconsin, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Madison to Eau Claire?
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 Madison and Eau Claire 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.