Madison, WI vs Indianapolis, IN
Moving from Madison to Indianapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $295,921 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Indianapolis 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 $98,662 in Indianapolis, IN (−$1,338).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Indianapolis, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis ($266 vs $156 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Indianapolis, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $18,636 | −$1,560 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,740 | +$49 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,250 | +$165 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,932 | −$144 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,600 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $7,367 | −$7,794 |
| Total | $46,510 | $37,525 | −$8,985 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Indianapolis, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 4.28% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $295,921 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $156 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $1,553 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $42 | $102 |
| Home internet / mo | $85 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.6 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.7 | 25.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |