Madison, WI vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Madison to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Detroit 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 $102,348 in Detroit, MI (+$2,348).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($266 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $18,000 | −$2,196 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,896 | +$205 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $4,575 | +$1,490 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $2,316 | +$240 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $9,547 | −$5,614 |
| Total | $46,510 | $40,634 | −$5,875 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |