Madison, WI vs Orlando, FL
Moving from Madison to Orlando? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $387,733 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Orlando 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 $105,896 in Orlando, FL (+$5,896).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Orlando, FL: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 2,385 sqft in Orlando ($266 vs $210 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Orlando, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $23,724 | +$3,528 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,813 | +$122 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $4,800 | +$1,715 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,656 | −$420 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $4,200 | +$2,900 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $4,915 | −$10,246 |
| Total | $46,510 | $44,108 | −$2,401 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Orlando, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 101.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 5.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 12.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $387,733 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $210 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $1,977 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |