Overall
- Madison
- 97.3
Diff +0.1 RPP
Lakeland-Winter Haven vs Madison
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Madison is 0.2% more expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven.
0.2% more expensive
Madison, WI is 0.2% more expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 97.1). A $100,000 salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven buys about the same as $100,150 in Madison; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.1 (Lakeland-Winter Haven) vs 97.3 (Madison)
- $100k in Lakeland-Winter Haven ≈ $100,150 purchasing power in Madison
- Rents drives the gap (+3.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:WI 97.1→97.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE FL × WI
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Lakeland-Winter Haven
97.1
Cost Index
Madison
97.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL and Madison, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Madison is 3.8 points higher. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Lakeland-Winter Haven corresponds to $100,150 in Madison.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Madison
- 93.8
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Madison
- 89.8
Diff +2.9 RPP
Rents
- Madison
- 99.7
Diff +3.8 RPP
| Category | Lakeland-Winter Haven | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.1 | 97.3 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.8 | -2.5 |
| Services | 86.9 | 89.8 | +2.9 |
| Rents | 95.9 | 99.7 | +3.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lakeland-Winter Haven 97.1
Madison 97.3
Goods
Lakeland-Winter Haven 96.2
Madison 93.8
Services
Lakeland-Winter Haven 86.9
Madison 89.8
Rents
Lakeland-Winter Haven 95.9
Madison 99.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Lakeland-Winter Haven and Madison share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.2 to 0.1 RPP points. Madison remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (13.0 to 3.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lakeland-Winter Haven RPP | Madison RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.9 | 98.1 | 1.2 points Madison higher |
| 2012 | 96.1 | 97.4 | 1.3 points Madison higher |
| 2016 | 96.4 | 95.9 | 0.5 points Lakeland-Winter Haven higher |
| 2020 | 93.3 | 95.9 | 2.6 points Madison higher |
| 2024 | 97.1 | 97.3 | 0.1 points Madison higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven would need to be in Madison for the same purchasing power:
| In Lakeland-Winter Haven | In Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,075 | +$75 |
| $75,000 | $75,113 | +$113 |
| $100,000 | $100,150 | +$150 |
| $150,000 | $150,225 | +$225 |
$ in Lakeland-Winter Haven = in Madison
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.1 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Madison more expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven?
Madison is 0.2% more expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 97.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Madison equals $100K in Lakeland-Winter Haven?
A $100,000 salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven has the same purchasing power as $100,150 in Madison. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lakeland-Winter Haven and Madison?
Rents in Lakeland-Winter Haven are indexed at 95.9 while Madison is at 99.7 (national average = 100). Madison 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.