Madison, Wisconsin, is characterized by a clean environment. According to our city rankings, this is a good place to live with high ratings in business freedom, safety and healthcare.
Madison is one of the top ten city matches for 2.7% of Teleport users.
/11,45,1/510x340.png?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoidGVsZXBvcnQiLCJhIjoiY2lnM3VqNXVqMDJsaHYza2gwN2wzdXhidCJ9.PuTxgLkbswKZzPhzlKgv4A)
Housing| Large apartment | $1600.00 |
|---|---|
| Medium apartment | $1300.00 |
| Rent index [score] | 0.58 |
| Small apartment | $1000.00 |
Cost of Living| 5km taxi ride | $17.00 |
|---|---|
| A Cappuccino | $3.60 |
| A beer | $1.70 |
| A kilogram of Apples | $2.50 |
| Bread | $1.20 |
| Inflation [score] | 0.62 |
| Lunch | $14.00 |
| Monthly fitness club membership | $41.00 |
| Monthly public transport | $64.00 |
| Movie ticket | $11.00 |
| Price of a meal at a restaurant | $65.79 |
Startups| Average monthly increase in number of startups | 1 |
|---|---|
| Average monthly increase in number of startups [score] | 0.20 |
| Coworking spaces [score] | 0.56 |
| Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co | 21 |
| Meetups [score] | 0.28 |
| Meetups groups | 67 |
| Meetups members | 22935 |
| Number of investors | 35 |
| Number of startup events in the last 12 months | 398 |
| Number of upcoming meetup events | 20 |
| Startup climate scene [score] | 0.48 |
| Startup events | 47 |
| Startup events [score] | 0.56 |
| Startups [score] | 0.60 |
| Total number of startups | 188 |
Venture Capital| Venture capital [score] | 0.29 |
|---|
Travel Connectivity| Airport hub | 11 |
|---|---|
| Airport hub [score] | 0.13 |
| Intercity train connectivity [score] | 0.11 |
Commute| Human city page | http://cities.human.co/details/United_States/Madison |
|---|---|
| Traffic handling [score] | 0.87 |
Business Freedom| Business freedom | 84.70 |
|---|---|
| Business freedom [score] | 0.86 |
| Freedom from corruption | 74.00 |
| Freedom from corruption [score] | 0.79 |
| Lack of labor restrictions | 91.40 |
| Lack of labor restrictions [score] | 1.00 |
| Time to open a business | 5.60 |
| Time to open a business [score] | 0.95 |
Safety| Crime rate [score] | 0.85 |
|---|---|
| Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year | 10 |
| Guns per 100 residents | 69 |
| Lack of gun related deaths [score] | 0.73 |
| Lack of guns [score] | 0.62 |
| Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score] | 0.68 |
Healthcare| Healthcare expenditure [score] | 0.99 |
|---|---|
| Healthcare quality [score] | 0.96 |
| Life expectancy (years) | 79.28 |
| Life expectancy [score] | 0.76 |
Education| Best university in ranking | University of Wisconsin-Madison |
|---|---|
| Best university ranking | 45 |
| Country mean scores in PISA math test | 478.04 |
| Country mean scores in PISA reading test | 497.58 |
| Country mean scores in PISA science test | 497.41 |
| PISA math ranking (high school) | 30 |
| PISA ranking | 24 |
| PISA ranking (high school) [score] | 0.72 |
| PISA reading (high school) | 16 |
| PISA science (high school) | 19 |
| Percent of happy students | 0.77 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA math test | 0.26 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA reading test | 0.17 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA science test | 0.18 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA math test | 0.09 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA reading test | 0.08 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA science test | 0.07 |
| University quality [score] | 0.35 |
Environmental Quality| Air quality [score] | 0.99 |
|---|---|
| Cleanliness [score] | 0.99 |
| Drinking water quality [score] | 0.83 |
| Urban greenery [score] | 1.00 |
Economy| Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area | 1.00 |
|---|---|
| Currency for urban area | USD |
| GDP growth rate | 0.02 |
| GDP growth rate [score] | 0.43 |
| GDP per capita | $54596.65 |
| GDP per capita [score] | 0.87 |
Taxation| Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score] | 0.54 |
|---|---|
| Income tax level [score] | 0.30 |
| Profit tax (% of profit) | 0.44 |
| Time overhead to file company taxes | 175 |
| VAT (Sales Tax) | 0.06 |
Internet Access| Download speed (Mbps) | 56.50 |
|---|---|
| Internet access (download) [score] | 0.67 |
| Internet access (upload) [score] | 0.33 |
| Upload speed (Mbps) | 7.13 |
Leisure & Culture| Art galleries | 122 |
|---|---|
| Art galleries [score] | 0.51 |
| Cinemas | 46 |
| Cinemas [score] | 0.61 |
| Comedy clubs | 22 |
| Comedy clubs [score] | 0.77 |
| Concert venues | 121 |
| Concerts [score] | 0.72 |
| Historical sites | 36 |
| Historical sites [score] | 0.40 |
| Museums | 39 |
| Museums [score] | 0.49 |
| Performing art venues | 119 |
| Performing arts [score] | 0.66 |
| Sport venues | 34 |
| Sports [score] | 0.71 |
| Zoos | 8 |
| Zoos [score] | 0.82 |
Tolerance| LGBT Equality Index | 82.97 |
|---|---|
| LGBT Equality Index [score] | 0.85 |
| LGBT adoption rights | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT age of consent | ✔ Equal |
| LGBT blood donation regulations | ✖ Banned (indefinite deferral) |
| LGBT conversion therapy regulations | Ambiguous |
| LGBT discrimination legality | Illegal in some contexts |
| LGBT employment discrimination legality | Sexual orientation only |
| LGBT gender changing rights | ✔ Legal, surgery not required |
| LGBT homosexuality rights | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT housing discrimination legality | Sexual orientation only |
| LGBT marriage rights | ✔ Legal |
| Tolerance towards minorities [score] | 0.73 |
Outdoors| Elevation (hills or mountains) [score] | 0.18 |
|---|---|
| Median peak in meters | 316.00 |
| Urban area elevation (meters) | 271.00 |
| Water access [score] | 0.70 |
Costs of living in Madison are in the 99th place of all 248 Teleport cities. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.
 Monthly fitness club membership | $41 |
|---|---|
 Movie ticket | $11 |
 Broadband internet connection | $50 |
 Monthly public transport | $64 |
 Lunch | $14 |
Software Engineer salaries in Madison are high. For this job type, Madison ranks 30th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Madison.
The overall crime rate puts Madison in position 37 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.
Legal
Legal
Surgery Not Required
Illegal In Some Contexts
Legal
Legal
90Situated on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, Madison is the capital of the State of Wisconsin and the anchor of the Greater Madison Area.
Madison is a fairly large city in south central Wisconsin. One of only two cities in North America situated on an isthmus (the other is Seattle), Madison is defined by its five lakes: Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa, and Kegonsa. Through a combination of factors, including the state capital and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the city has more to offer than might be expected from a metropolitan area of about 500,000. Madison has many excellent restaurants, an active theater community, a great music scene, and good shopping. Madison is also just minutes away from a beautiful rural countryside featuring larger fields and a more scenic and hilly terrain, depending on which direction one travels outside of the city.
National groups and magazines rank Madison highly for being a very bike-friendly city, a great place to raise a family, having a healthy and fit population, and an overall high quality of life. Madison is a melting pot of the Midwest. You'll find professionals, students, families, hippies, musicians and everything in between. It has a vibrant nightlife scene with lots of live music and pubs. It shares many qualities of other well-known college towns like Berkeley and Austin—a creative and educated population—but retains a small-town feel.
Read moreEvery city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.
Teleport Zen is a personalized to-do list and moving guide.
We've got you covered from job search and apartment hunting to visa advice.
Find on Facebook