Madison, WI vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Madison to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs St. Louis 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 $98,998 in St. Louis, MO (−$1,002).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($266 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $17,412 | −$2,784 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,934 | +$243 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,390 | +$305 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,512 | −$564 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,400 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $10,488 | −$4,673 |
| Total | $46,510 | $40,136 | −$6,373 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $42 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $85 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.6 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.7 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |