Madison, WI vs Portland, OR
Moving from Madison to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $552,022 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Portland 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 $111,237 in Portland, OR (+$11,237).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($266 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $21,564 | +$1,368 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $5,240 | +$549 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,680 | +$595 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,704 | −$372 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $900 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $14,382 | −$779 |
| Total | $46,510 | $47,470 | +$960 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $325 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $42 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $85 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.6 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.7 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |