IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Madison, WI
Madison is a big city of 278,001 people in Dane County, Wisconsin. It's part of the Madison, WI area. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 27°F, with about 42 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $373k and rent runs about $1k a month.
278,001people
$373kTypical home
$1,413/moRent
82° / 27°Summer / winter
42"Snow
224Sunny days
116Rain/snow days
Is Madison right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Big city of 278,001
- Part of a metro area
- About 3,325 people per sq mi
- 74 mi to Milwaukee, WI
- In the Madison, WI area
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $373k (≈$2,352/mo)
- Median rent $1,413/mo
- Median household income $78k
- Property tax about 1.8% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 27°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 224 sunny days a year (73 totally clear)
- 141 cloudy days a year
- 46 of 90 winter days are gray
- 116 days a year with rain or snow
- 42" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 39 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (213 per 100k)
- About average property crime (1,873 per 100k)
People
- Median age 32
- 20% of households have kids
- 13% are 65 or older
- 60% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 18% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 21 min
- 13% walk or take transit to work
- 6 mi to MSN airport
- 78 mi to MKE (major hub)
- 32 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 45% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1980
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 922 ft
- 676 mi to the ocean
- 59 mi to a big lake
- 6 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 7 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 38 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 524 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 177 bars within 25 mi
- 138 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 7 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 29 museums within 25 mi
- 19 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 2 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 44% of Wisconsin districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 1 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 3 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Dane County: D+52 in 2024
- Wisconsin: Purple — split almost evenly
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk