Baltimore, MD vs Madison, WI
Moving from Baltimore to Madison? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $452,769 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Madison at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $92,974 in Madison, WI (−$7,026).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Madison, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 1,878 sqft in Madison ($214 vs $266 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Madison, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $20,196 | −$2,832 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,691 | −$384 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,085 | −$600 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $2,076 | −$312 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,300 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $15,162 | +$3,578 |
| Total | $47,160 | $46,510 | −$650 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Madison, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 95.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 2.42% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.46 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $452,769 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $266 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,683 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 1.75% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |