Madison composite
56.9 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Madison vs Waterloo
Madison, WI and Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 56.9
- Madison Life Score
- B+
- Madison grade
- 71.5
- Waterloo Life Score
- A+
- Waterloo grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Madison scores higher on 2 (wages, schools) and Waterloo on 5 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Madison vs Waterloo across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Madison Waterloo ◗
cost of living
32
91
wages
86
45
rent
64
88
safety
61
72
schools
48
46
childcare
41
64
environment
56
95
Madison and Waterloo differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Madison has a cost-of-living index of 97.3 vs Waterloo's 87.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $72,527 in Madison and $61,344 in Waterloo. A 2-bedroom averages $1,195/mo vs $1,051/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Madison vs Waterloo Comparison
Madison (WI) and Waterloo (IA) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 97.3 for Madison against 87.1 for Waterloo, a 10.2-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,195/mo in Madison and $1,051/mo in Waterloo, a $144/mo difference that compounds to $1,728 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $72,527 across 399,040 jobs in Madison against $61,344 across 77,420 jobs in Waterloo. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Madison carries the same local purchasing power as $89,485 in Waterloo - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 279.6 per 100,000 residents in WI vs 238.5 in IA, with property-crime rates of 1156.8 and 1286.3 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: WI lists 2,205 public schools at a 14.4:1 student-teacher ratio, while IA lists 1,326 schools at 14.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $11,256/yr in the Madison area versus $8,306/yr in Waterloo - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Madison and Waterloo are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Waterloo composite
71.5 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
10.2 pts
Madison vs Waterloo BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$144 /mo
Madison priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Madison
Madison composite (Grade B+)
Waterloo
Waterloo composite (Grade A+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Madison | Waterloo |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 97.3 | 87.1 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.7 |
| Services | 89.8 | 83.7 |
| Rents | 99.7 | 63.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Waterloo gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Madison?
$
Equivalent in Waterloo:
$89,485
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Madison: 97.3, Waterloo: 87.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Madison | Waterloo |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $824/mo | $725/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $911/mo | $801/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,195/mo | $1,051/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,645/mo | $1,357/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,798/mo | $1,763/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Madison | Waterloo |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $72,527 | $61,344 |
| Total Employment | 399,040 | 77,420 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Madison (WI) | Waterloo (IA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 279.6 | 238.5 |
| Property Crime | 1156.8 | 1286.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | WI | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,205 | 1,326 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.4:1 | 14.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 10.7% | 0.3% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | WI | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $11,256/yr | $8,306/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $10,203/yr | $7,157/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $10,203/yr | $7,157/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | WI | IA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 991 | 546 |
| Water Systems | 977 | 1,077 |
| Superfund Sites | 46 | 25 |
| Water Violations | 2,233 | 729 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Madison | Waterloo |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.0 | 48.0 |
| Good Air Days | 71.6% | 55.1% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | WI | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 36/100 | 6/100 |
| Total Violations | 285,161 | 138,271 |
| Health-Based Violations | 58,688 | 27,946 |
| Systems with Violations | 72.1% | 95.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | WI | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 454 | 448 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | WI | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 51/100 | 77/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 59.1 | 39.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 62.0 | 47.9 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Madison more expensive than Waterloo? ▼
Madison has a cost of living index of 97.3 compared to Waterloo's 87.1 (national average = 100). Madison is 10.2 points above Waterloo on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Madison and Waterloo? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,195/mo in Madison vs $1,051/mo in Waterloo, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $824/mo to $725/mo.
How do salaries compare between Madison and Waterloo? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $72,527 in Madison and $61,344 in Waterloo, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Madison has the same purchasing power as $89,485 in Waterloo.
Is Madison or Waterloo safer? ▼
At the state level, WI has a violent crime rate of 279.6 per 100,000 residents compared to IA's 238.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1156.8 vs 1286.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Madison and Waterloo? ▼
WI has 2,205 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1, while IA has 1,326 schools at 14.8:1. Charter schools make up 10.7% of WI schools vs 0.3% in IA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial