New York, NY vs Madison, WI
Moving from New York to Madison? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $452,769 median home) and taxes.
New York vs Madison 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $85,165 in Madison, WI (−$14,835).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Madison, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 1,878 sqft in Madison ($455 vs $266 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Madison, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $20,196 | −$21,840 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,691 | −$723 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,085 | −$810 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $2,076 | −$1,104 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $15,162 | −$8,334 |
| Total | $79,622 | $46,510 | −$33,112 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Madison, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 95.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 2.42% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.46 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $452,769 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $266 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,683 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 1.75% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 8 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |