Denver, CO vs Madison, WI
Moving from Denver to Madison? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $452,769 median home) and taxes.
Denver 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 Denver, CO, you'd need about $90,702 in Madison, WI (−$9,298).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Madison, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 1,878 sqft in Madison ($302 vs $266 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Madison, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $20,196 | −$2,724 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,691 | −$388 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,085 | −$965 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,076 | +$288 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,300 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $15,162 | +$5,334 |
| Total | $46,464 | $46,510 | +$45 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Madison, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 95.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 2.42% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.46 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $452,769 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $266 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,683 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.75% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |