Charlotte, NC vs Madison, WI
Moving from Charlotte to Madison? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,321 → $452,769 median home) and taxes.
Charlotte 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 Charlotte, NC, you'd need about $98,573 in Madison, WI (−$1,427).
Livability — Charlotte, NC: 66 · Madison, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,561 sqft in Charlotte vs 1,878 sqft in Madison ($195 vs $266 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charlotte, NC | Madison, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,880 | $20,196 | −$684 |
| Groceries | $4,834 | $4,691 | −$143 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,085 | −$45 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $2,076 | +$324 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,300 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $8,740 | $15,162 | +$6,422 |
| Total | $41,336 | $46,510 | +$5,174 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charlotte, NC | Madison, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 95.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.71% | 2.42% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.0% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.46 |
| Median home price | $390,321 | $452,769 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.1× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $266 |
| Median rent | $1,740 | $1,683 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.75% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $78 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.5 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |