Living here
Cost of living in Madison
Housing is close to the US average. Rents, home prices, taxes and how far a paycheck goes.
Median rent
$1,364/mo
1% above US
Median home value
$346,900
14% above US
Median household income
$76,983
2% below US
Rent as share of income
21%
US 21%
Home price to income
4.5×
US 3.9×
Sales tax
5.5%
Rent by number of bedrooms
HUD 2027 fair market rents for Madison, WI HUD Metro FMR Area (gross rent including utilities, near the 40th percentile of local rents). Source: HUD USER.
How Madison compares
Taxes
Life in Madison
Questions
Is Madison expensive to live in?
Housing in Madison is close to the national average: median rent is $1,364 (1% above US) and the median home value is $346,900 (14% above US).
How much is rent in Madison?
The median gross rent is $1,364 a month. HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for the area are studio $1,196, 1 bedroom $1,375, 2 bedrooms $1,565, 3 bedrooms $2,047, 4 bedrooms $2,264.
How much of their income do renters spend in Madison?
At the median, a year’s rent ($16,368) equals about 21% of the median household income ($76,983); nationally it’s about 21%.
What are taxes like in Madison?
Sales tax is 5.5% and property taxes run about 1.84% of home value a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; HUD fair market rents; Wisconsin DOR Tax Rates FAQ and county sales tax rate chart.