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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Career-launching requires a city that pays well and has employer depth. We analyzed 2 cities in Wisconsin. Madison: index 96, income $76,983, transport index 99 (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
#1 Ranked: Madison — cost index 96, rent $1,649/mo, income $76,983
Young-professional scoring: income $76,983, population 280,305 (job market depth), transport index 99
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Career-launching requires a city that pays well and has employer depth. We analyzed 2 cities in Wisconsin. Madison: index 96, income $76,983, transport index 99 (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
Why Madison ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 96 on the cost index, residents save roughly 15% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,649/month while the median household pulls in $76,983/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 96, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $415,530 — $51,840 below the national median.
And here's what ties it all together: Wisconsin — dairy state stability with surprisingly low costs. And in most cases, the 2 cities we track here average a cost index of 89 and median income of $64,436. It's a clear buyer's market compared to national norms. The typical rent runs $1,524/month, which is $371 less than the national median (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. And in most cases, 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
280,305 residents · Wisconsin
Why Madison ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 96 on the cost index, residents save roughly 15% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,649/month while the median household pulls in $76,983/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 96, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $415,530 — $51,840 below the national median.
561,385 residents · Wisconsin
Here's Milwaukee by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 82. Rent: $1,398/month. Income: $51,888/year. Home price: $216,278. Population: 561,385. The strongest category is Housing at 82; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $5,964 per year vs. the national median. This is quietly one of the better values out there.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to young professionals. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Madison ranks #1 in Wisconsin for this analysis with a cost index of 96 and median income of $76,983.
Madison scores highest for young professionals due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,649/mo, and competitive median income of $76,983.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Madison (ranked #1) has a cost index of 96 and rent of $1,649/mo, while Milwaukee (ranked #2) has a cost index of 82 and rent of $1,398/mo — a 14-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Madison is $1,649/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $246 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Madison is $415,530, which is 5.4× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Wisconsin has a 7.65% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 5.44%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.51%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.