Overall
- Carson City
- 98.1
- Madison
- 97.3
Diff -0.8 RPP
Carson City vs Madison
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Madison is 0.9% less expensive than Carson City.
0.9% less expensive
Madison, WI is 0.9% less expensive than Carson City, NV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 98.1). A $100,000 salary in Carson City buys about the same as $99,141 in Madison; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.1 (Carson City) vs 97.3 (Madison)
- $100k in Carson City ≈ $99,141 purchasing power in Madison
- Services drives the gap (-2.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NV:WI 98.1→97.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NV × WI
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Carson City
98.1
Cost Index
Madison
97.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Carson City, NV and Madison, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.8 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with Madison 2.8 points lower than Carson City. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Carson City to $99,141 in Madison, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Carson City
- 96.3
- Madison
- 93.8
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Carson City
- 92.7
- Madison
- 89.8
Diff -2.8 RPP
Rents
- Carson City
- 101.2
- Madison
- 99.7
Diff -1.4 RPP
| Category | Carson City | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.1 | 97.3 | -0.8 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 93.8 | -2.5 |
| Services | 92.7 | 89.8 | -2.8 |
| Rents | 101.2 | 99.7 | -1.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Carson City 98.1
Madison 97.3
Goods
Carson City 96.3
Madison 93.8
Services
Carson City 92.7
Madison 89.8
Rents
Carson City 101.2
Madison 99.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Carson City would need to be in Madison for the same purchasing power:
| In Carson City | In Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,570 | $-430 |
| $75,000 | $74,356 | $-644 |
| $100,000 | $99,141 | $-859 |
| $150,000 | $148,711 | $-1,289 |
$ in Carson City = in Madison
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.1 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Madison more expensive than Carson City?
Madison is 0.9% less expensive than Carson City. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 98.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Madison equals $100K in Carson City?
A $100,000 salary in Carson City has the same purchasing power as $99,141 in Madison. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Carson City and Madison?
Rents in Carson City are indexed at 101.2 while Madison is at 99.7 (national average = 100). Carson City has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.