Madison, WI vs Milwaukee, WI vs Waukesha, WI | City comparison

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Side-by-side relocation research with housing, income, commute, career, lifestyle, and friction signals. Green marks the strongest metric in each row; red marks the weakest.

Madison, WI

Madison
Home
$429,253
Rent
$1,697/mo
Income
$78,050
Pop.
285,300
Career
97
Remote
51

Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee-Waukesha
Home
$226,456
Rent
$1,461/mo
Income
$54,234
Pop.
563,531
Career
75
Remote
40

Waukesha, WI

Milwaukee-Waukesha
Home
$419,399
Rent
$1,543/mo
Income
$83,837
Pop.
71,461
Career
80
Remote
44
MetricMadison, WIMilwaukee, WIWaukesha, WI
Population285,300563,53171,461
Population growth / yr+1.4%-0.6%+0.1%
Median home value$429,253$226,456$419,399
Median rent$1,697/mo$1,461/mo$1,543/mo
Median household income$78,050$54,234$83,837
Home value YoY+2.2%+3.6%+5.4%
5-year home CAGR+5.8%+7.1%+6.5%
Off 5-year peak-0.0%+0.0%+0.0%
Momentum score717073
Career fit977580
Remote-work fit514044
Average commute21 min24 min23 min
Traffic friction334234
Public transit gap636596
Outdoors fit333333
Dating scene proxy665437

Best-fit read

  • Milwaukee, WI tends to score better for lower purchase budget.
  • Milwaukee, WI tends to score better for lower rent.
  • Waukesha, WI tends to score better for higher local income.
  • Madison, WI tends to score better for career momentum.
  • Madison, WI tends to score better for remote-work fit.

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Madison, WI profile
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Waukesha, WI profile