Madison vs Green Bay leftover
You'd keep $269 more a month in Green Bay
$2,883/mo leftover in Green Bay vs $2,614 in Madison after tax and rent ($269 more). +$3,228 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
Green Bay leftover
$2,883
+$269 vs Madison
Compare Madison to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Madison.
Monthly gap
Madison → Green Bay
$269
more / month in Green Bay
$2,883 in Green Bay · $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, 137 households moved Madison → Green Bay (avg AGI $62,051). 212 went the other way. The whole move →
+$269 / mo
| Per month | Madison | Green Bay | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,792 | $7,511 | −$280 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,933 | $1,835 | −$98 |
| Take-home pay | $5,859 | $5,676 | −$182 |
| Rent | $1,330 | $868 | −$462 |
| Getting around | $509 | $556 | +$47 |
| Groceries | $388 | $378 | −$10 |
| Healthcare | $437 | $425 | −$12 |
| Utilities | $243 | $236 | −$7 |
| Everything else | $340 | $330 | −$10 |
| Left over | $2,614 | $2,883 | +$269 |
To break even in Green Bay, you'd need to earn
$85,000
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
+$178
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.8% in Madison, 24.4% in Green Bay.
More about Green Bay
Madison, WI in full
A university town with big-city wages and small-city commutes.
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.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Green Bay on Green Bay wages.
Green Bay → Madison →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Green Bay than Madison?
A one-bedroom is about $1,330 in Madison versus $868 in Green Bay. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $269 a month higher in Green Bay. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Green Bay have state income tax?
Green Bay is in Wisconsin, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Madison to Green Bay?
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 Green Bay 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.