Madison, WI vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Madison to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Seattle 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 $117,509 in Seattle, WA (+$17,509).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($266 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $26,784 | +$6,588 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $5,405 | +$714 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $4,075 | +$990 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,548 | −$528 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $8,826 | −$6,335 |
| Total | $46,510 | $48,138 | +$1,629 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |