Overall
97.3
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Madison, WI
Cost-of-living indicators for Madison, WI, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 97.3
- Overall RPP
- #125
- of 387 metros
- 99.7
- Rents RPP
- $103K
- $100K national buys
Madison ranks #125 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Panama City-Panama City Beach
The verdict
Madison costs less than 32% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 97.3, 2.7% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 89.8.
- bottom 68%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.8
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 89.8
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $102,789 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $97,287.
Service-cost relief profile
How Madison's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Madison: their index is 89.8, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 97.3 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC, Durham-Chapel Hill, NC. They resemble Madison across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Madison's overall index has stayed within 0.8 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Madison vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
97 Top 32% higher than 68% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Madison cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
99.7 RPP
- Services
Services
89.8 RPP
- Overall
Overall
97.3 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.8 RPP
What this shows Madison's strongest departure is services at 89.8; goods follows at 93.8. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Madison's cost comes from
Metros near Madison's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Madison (Madison, this metro): goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 99.7
- Panama City: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 96.4
- St. George: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 98.1
- Charlotte: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 97.6
- Lakeland: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 95.9
- Dover: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 95.9
- Reading: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 85.4
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.8
Below avg
Services
89.8
Cheap
Rents
99.7
Below avg
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.8 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index jumped 2.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Madison overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.1 |
| 2009 | 98.6 |
| 2010 | 98.7 |
| 2011 | 96.8 |
| 2012 | 97.4 |
| 2013 | 97.8 |
| 2014 | 98.1 |
| 2015 | 95.9 |
| 2016 | 95.9 |
| 2017 | 95.6 |
| 2018 | 98.3 |
| 2019 | 98.1 |
| 2020 | 95.9 |
| 2021 | 96.6 |
| 2022 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 95.9 |
| 2024 | 97.3 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Madison's overall RPP rose +1.4 points, from 95.9 in 2023 to 97.3 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 95.9 to 99.7. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$97,287
in Madison, WI purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$48,644
$75,000 nationally
$72,965
$125,000 nationally
$121,609
$150,000 nationally
$145,931
$200,000 nationally
$194,574
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
25/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
25th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Madison's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.5 · Rents 98.8 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
Goods 96.8 · Services 89.6 · Rents 99.8 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 89.3 · Rents 98.9 Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ
Goods 96.2 · Services 91.5 · Rents 98.8 Richmond, VA
Goods 96.8 · Services 89.2 · Rents 99.1 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Goods 93.8 · Services 91.6 · Rents 97.1
WI-relative analysis
Goods prices places Madison, WI near the bottom of WI's metros
Among the 13 WI metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Madison, WI ranks #3 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Madison, WI only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 13
0th percentile in WI
Services prices
#10 of 13
23rd percentile in WI
Rent prices
#1 of 13
92nd percentile in WI
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within WI only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Madison, WI: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (97.3 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (99.7 here).
Other WI Metros
Kenosha, WI 101.1 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 96.9 Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI 96.0 Sheboygan, WI 94.0 Janesville-Beloit, WI 93.7 Green Bay, WI 93.1
View all WI metros → Cheapest in WI → Most expensive in WI →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Madison, WI's index of 97.3.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Madison
How to read Madison's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $102,789 in Madison. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 89.8, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Madison head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Madison, WI?
Madison, WI has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 97.3, meaning it is 2.7% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.8, services at 89.8, and rents at 99.7. It ranks #125 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Madison, WI to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $97,287 in Madison, WI. Conversely, $100K earned in Madison, WI has the purchasing power of $102,789 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Madison, WI?
Rents in Madison, WI are indexed at 99.7, which is 0.3% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Madison, WI getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Madison, WI's overall cost index changed by -0.8 points (from 98.1 to 97.3). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Madison, WI?
The priciest category in Madison, WI is rents at 99.7, 0.3% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 89.8, 10.2% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Madison, WI?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Panama City-Panama City Beach, St. George, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Madison, WI's 97.3.
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.