Overall
Diff -0.4 RPP
Madison vs Tucson
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Tucson is 0.4% less expensive than Madison.
0.4% less expensive
Tucson, AZ is 0.4% less expensive than Madison, WI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.9 vs 97.3). A $100,000 salary in Madison buys about the same as $99,598 in Tucson; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.3 (Madison) vs 96.9 (Tucson)
- $100k in Madison ≈ $99,598 purchasing power in Tucson
- Rents drives the gap (-8.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:AZ 97.3→96.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × AZ
- 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.
Madison
97.3
Cost Index
Tucson
96.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Madison, WI and Tucson, AZ are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Tucson is 8.0 points lower. 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 Madison corresponds to $99,598 in Tucson.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.4 RPP
Services
Diff -0.3 RPP
Rents
Diff -8.0 RPP
| Category | Madison | Tucson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.3 | 96.9 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.2 | +2.4 |
| Services | 89.8 | 89.5 | -0.3 |
| Rents | 99.7 | 91.8 | -8.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Madison 97.3
Tucson 96.9
Goods
Madison 93.8
Tucson 96.2
Services
Madison 89.8
Tucson 89.5
Rents
Madison 99.7
Tucson 91.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Madison would need to be in Tucson for the same purchasing power:
| In Madison | In Tucson | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,799 | $-201 |
| $75,000 | $74,699 | $-301 |
| $100,000 | $99,598 | $-402 |
| $150,000 | $149,397 | $-603 |
$ in Madison = in Tucson
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.3 → 96.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tucson more expensive than Madison?
Tucson is 0.4% less expensive than Madison. The overall cost index is 96.9 vs 97.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Tucson equals $100K in Madison?
A $100,000 salary in Madison has the same purchasing power as $99,598 in Tucson. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Madison and Tucson?
Rents in Madison are indexed at 99.7 while Tucson is at 91.8 (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.