Median rent is 2% lower in Madison ($1,413/mo vs $1,440/mo). Buying is cheaper in Chicago, where the median home runs $334,100 versus $372,900. Households earn more in Madison ($78,050 vs $77,902 a year).
City A
Chicago, IL
City B
Madison, WI
How much would you need to earn in Madison, WI to maintain your standard of living from Chicago, IL?
A cost-of-living index isn't available for one of these cities yet, so we can't compute an equivalent salary.
Based on BEA Regional Price Parity (cost index) for each metro area. This estimates overall purchasing power; it does not account for taxes or take-home pay differences.
Metric
Chicago
Illinois
Madison
Wisconsin
Population
Median Household Income
Annual
Median Gross Rent
Per month
Median Home Value
Cost of Living Index
US avg = 100
1BR Fair Market Rent
HUD FMR
2BR Fair Market Rent
HUD FMR
3BR Fair Market Rent
HUD FMR
Air Quality Index
Lower = cleaner
Top State Income Tax
Top marginal rate
State Sales Tax
Statewide base rate
Median Age
Years
✓ = better value · Sources: Census ACS, BEA, HUD Fair Market Rents, EPA AirNow, Tax Foundation
Median rents are similar in both cities: $1,440/mo in Chicago and $1,413/mo in Madison. Median home values are within 10% of each other: $334,100 in Chicago and $372,900 in Madison.
Metric
Chicago
Madison
Software Developer
Registered Nurse
Elementary Teacher
Electrician
Accountant
Higher wage highlighted · BLS OEWS 2023 (metro-level data)
State tax data is not yet available for these cities.
Chicago
Income tax: N/A
Sales tax: N/A
Madison
Income tax: N/A
Sales tax: N/A
Madison has cleaner air on average: 27.0 AQI (Good) compared to 31.0 AQI (Good) in the other city. Lower AQI means cleaner, healthier air.
Cost of living index data is not yet available for one or both cities.
Median rent is $1,440/mo in Chicago, IL and $1,413/mo in Madison, WI. Madison, WI has the lower rent by about 2%.
Median household income is $77,902 in Chicago, IL and $78,050 in Madison, WI. Madison, WI has the higher median income. Note that BLS occupational wages in the table above show wages for specific jobs.
Madison, WI has better air quality on average: 27.0 AQI versus 31.0 AQI. Both are EPA AirNow annual averages; lower is better.
State tax data is not yet available for one or both cities.
RPP data needed for salary equivalence calculation is not yet available.
Data last updated: June 1, 2026 · Sources: US Census ACS, BEA RPP, BLS OEWS, HUD FMR, EPA AirNow, Tax Foundation · Methodology
