Madison, WI vs Boston, MA
Moving from Madison to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Boston 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 Madison, WI, you'd need about $115,072 in Boston, MA (+$15,072).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($266 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $38,532 | +$18,336 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $5,040 | +$348 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,210 | +$125 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $3,180 | +$1,104 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,800 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $17,694 | +$2,532 |
| Total | $46,510 | $69,455 | +$22,945 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |