Madison, WI vs Milwaukee, WI vs Wauwatosa, 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

Wauwatosa, WI

Milwaukee-Waukesha
Home
$422,436
Rent
$1,675/mo
Income
$101,138
Pop.
48,794
Career
81
Remote
53
MetricMadison, WIMilwaukee, WIWauwatosa, WI
Population285,300563,53148,794
Population growth / yr+1.4%-0.6%+0.2%
Median home value$429,253$226,456$422,436
Median rent$1,697/mo$1,461/mo$1,675/mo
Median household income$78,050$54,234$101,138
Home value YoY+2.2%+3.6%+4.4%
5-year home CAGR+5.8%+7.1%+6.1%
Off 5-year peak-0.0%+0.0%+0.0%
Momentum score717069
Career fit977581
Remote-work fit514053
Average commute21 min24 min21 min
Traffic friction334229
Public transit gap636595
Outdoors fit333333
Dating scene proxy665433

Best-fit read

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

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Madison, WI profile
Milwaukee, WI profile
Wauwatosa, WI profile