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Nurse Salary Calculator for Madison, WI
Local data pre-filled
Nursing salaries in Madison, WI reflect the cost of living index of 102. A cost-adjusted RN salary is approximately $81,600/year. Calculate your real earning power as a nurse in Madison.
✓ Calculator below is pre-filled with Madison local data
Data as of · Sources: Zillow, Census ACS, Tax Foundation, Freddie Mac
Wisconsin Financial Snapshot (2026) — Nurse Salary Calculator
Minimum wage, median HH income, and COL adjust take-home for the nurse salary calculator in Wisconsin.
How the Nurse Salary Calculator Math Works Under Wisconsin Law
A Wisconsin salary calculation starts with the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) table for your occupation at the state level, then layers on Wisconsin's payroll stack: federal income tax (brackets published by IRS), FICA (7.65%), and state income tax at a top marginal 7.65%[1][2].
The formula: take_home = gross − federal_tax − state_tax − FICA − other. "Other" covers 401(k) deferral, HSA, FSA, pre-tax benefits. The calculator below runs this client-side — no inputs leave your browser.
Local context: Madison, WI
Housing economics in Madison, WI. The median home value runs 23.8% above the U.S. baseline for Madison, WI is $443,056 per Zillow's home-value index. Median rent runs $1,673 a month per Zillow ZORI, cheaper than the national $1,850 baseline. Effective property tax sits at 1.80% of assessed value, meaningfully higher than the 0.99% national average tracked by the Tax Foundation.
Income and tax climate. Wisconsin's top marginal state income tax bracket lands at 7.65% — compared to the volume-weighted national average around 4-5%. BEA's Regional Price Parity scores Madison, WI at 102.0 (national = 100), meaning a dollar in Madison, WI buys 98¢ of national purchasing power.
Local context as of 2026-04-19.
Madison versus the U.S. baseline
| Metric | Madison, WI | U.S. baseline | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value[zillow] | $443,056 | $358,000 | 23.8% |
| Median monthly rent[zillow] | $1,673 | $1,850 | -9.6% |
| Property tax (effective)[tax-foundation] | 1.80% | 0.99% | 81.8% |
| State top marginal income tax[tax-foundation] | 7.65% | ~4.08% (volume-weighted) | 3.6 pp |
| State cost-of-living index[bea-rpp] | 102.0 | 100.0 | 2.0 pts |
How to use the Nurse Salary Calculator
Walk through using the Nurse Salary Calculator with Madison, WI-specific defaults pre-loaded from primary sources.
- Enter your Madison numbersFill in the nurse salary inputs. Defaults reflect Madison, WI 2026: median home $443,056, median rent $1,673/mo, 1.80% effective property tax.
- Apply the local 2026 inputsThe median home value in Madison is $443,056 (Zillow ZHVI), with median monthly rent running $1,673/mo.
- Compare against Madison contextMonthly PITI on the $443,056 median home in Madison is ~$3,224/mo — vs a $1,673/mo median rent.
How Wisconsin Compares to Neighboring States
| State | Median home | Top inc tax | Prop tax rate | RPP (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin (this page) | $295,000 | 7.65% | 1.85% | 93.2 |
| compare to Illinois | $275,000 | 4.95% | 2.23% | 98.8 |
| Iowa | $215,000 | 3.80% | 1.50% | 88.8 |
| Michigan | $245,000 | 4.25% | 1.58% | 94.3 |
| Minnesota | $335,000 | 9.85% | 1.12% | 98.3 |
Sources: Zillow ZHVI[1], state Departments of Revenue / Tax Foundation[2], Tax Foundation property taxes[3], BEA Regional Price Parities[4].
What Changes Your Result in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin cost-of-living drag:Line-item costs in Wisconsin deviate from the US mean by whatever the BEA all-items RPP deviates from 100. Weight your budget toward the state average rather than the national average.
Related Calculations for Wisconsin
- how teacher salary works for Wisconsin residents — both are BLS-OEWS-anchored salary tools.
How Madison Compares to the National Average
Understanding how Madison stacks up helps you calibrate your financial planning.
| Metric | Madison, WI | US Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $443,056 | $420,800 | +5.3% |
| Median Monthly Rent | $1,673 | $1,713 | -2.3% |
| Median Household Income | $86,827 | $74,580 | +16.4% |
| Property Tax Rate | 1.80% | 1.10% | +63.6% |
| Cost of Living Index | 102 | 100 | +2.0% |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, Zillow, NAR (2024–2025). Green = favorable for residents; red = less favorable.
Madison Financial Snapshot
- Population (Metro)
- 680,000
- Unemployment
- 2.4%
- Avg Commute
- 22 min
- Median Age
- 31.6
- Price-to-Rent Ratio
- 22.1x
- Annual Property Tax
- $7,975
More Financial Calculators for Madison, WI
Frequently Asked Questions — Madison
- What's the Madison-adjusted p50 wage?
- The state p50 $80,130 scaled by Madison's 102 cost-of-living index equals $81,733.
- Can median-income households afford the median home in Madison?
- With a ~$3,224 monthly PITI and $86,827 median income, housing would consume ~44.6% of gross annual income. Qualifying under the 28% DTI rule requires ~$138,171 in annual income. Educational reference only.
- Is it better to rent or buy in Madison?
- Madison's price-to-rent ratio (22.1x) tilts toward renting — above 20x, buying is generally expensive relative to renting.
- What is the median home price in Madison, WI?
- The median home price in Madison is $443,056 as of 2025–2026.
- What is the average rent in Madison?
- The median monthly rent in Madison, WI is $1,673.
- Does the nurse salary replace professional advice?
- No. This calculator gives educational estimates using public Madison data and standard formulas. It is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional for decisions with material consequences.
How we compute this — methodology
The Madison page uses local median home price ($443,056), median rent ($1,673/mo), and property tax rate (1.80%) alongside the calculator's client-side formula. Calculations run in your browser — no inputs are sent to a server.
Known limits: ZIP-level variance within Madison can be substantial — the figures shown are city-wide medians. For a precise property tax quote, consult your county assessor.
Sources
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (Zillow Home Value Index) + ZORI (Zillow Observed Rent Index), city-level. zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for median household income and population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.
- CalcFi state financial context — tips + first-time homebuyer programs compiled from each state's Housing Finance Authority (HFA) public pages. See
src/data/state-financial-context.ts. - Tax Foundation — state property tax effective rates and state/local sales tax rates. taxfoundation.org.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rate averages used by mortgage-related calculators. freddiemac.com/pmms.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Department of Labor — State Minimum Wage Laws — www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- State Departments of Revenue — official bracket + deduction publications (one primary URL per state; linked in the brackets table below) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rates — www.freddiemac.com/pmms. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- NAIC Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owners, and Homeowners Tenants Insurance Report — content.naic.org/article/homeowners-insurance-report. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — real median household income, unemployment, HPI, LFPR per state — fred.stlouisfed.org. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
Spot an error? Email [email protected] with the URL and the correct figure.
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National reference: Nurse Salary Calculator Calculator