Overall
- Madison
- 97.3
Diff -0.4 RPP
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent vs Madison
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Madison is 0.4% less expensive than Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent.
0.4% less expensive
Madison, WI is 0.4% less expensive than Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 97.7). A $100,000 salary in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent buys about the same as $99,560 in Madison; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 97.7 (Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent) vs 97.3 (Madison)
- $100k in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent ≈ $99,560 purchasing power in Madison
- Goods drives the gap (-2.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:WI 97.7→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.
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent
97.7
Cost Index
Madison
97.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL and Madison, WI 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.
Goods creates the largest separation: Madison is 2.5 points lower. But services and rents 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $99,560 in Madison as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Madison
- 93.8
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Madison
- 89.8
Diff +1.3 RPP
Rents
- Madison
- 99.7
Diff +1.0 RPP
| Category | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.7 | 97.3 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.8 | -2.5 |
| Services | 88.5 | 89.8 | +1.3 |
| Rents | 98.8 | 99.7 | +1.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 97.7
Madison 97.3
Goods
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 96.2
Madison 93.8
Services
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 88.5
Madison 89.8
Rents
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 98.8
Madison 99.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent would need to be in Madison for the same purchasing power:
| In Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | In Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,780 | $-220 |
| $75,000 | $74,670 | $-330 |
| $100,000 | $99,560 | $-440 |
| $150,000 | $149,340 | $-660 |
$ in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent = in Madison
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.7 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Madison more expensive than Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent?
Madison is 0.4% less expensive than Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 97.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Madison equals $100K in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent?
A $100,000 salary in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent has the same purchasing power as $99,560 in Madison. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent and Madison?
Rents in Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent are indexed at 98.8 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.