Accountants & Auditors salary in Madison, WI

Median pay for accountants & auditors in Madison, WI: $78,000/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $55,580 – $121,820 · about 4,580 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($74,290) by +$3,710 (+5%).

What it's really worth in Madison

With Madison's cost of living at 96 (US=100), that $78,000 has the buying power of about $81,306 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $82,996 · median home $452,769 · median rent $1,683/mo.

Full Madison cost of living & taxes →

How Madison ranks for this job

On raw pay, Madison, WI is 60th of the 187 metros we hold accountants & auditors wages for. Once Madison's cost of living is applied, it ranks 44th.

Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Madison sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.

What that salary buys in Madison

A median home in Madison, WI costs $452,769 — about 5.8× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,683/mo works out at 26% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where accountants & auditors earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Madison.

Metro	Median pay	vs Madison	Rent vs Madison
San Jose, CA	$113,980	+46%	2.2×
San Francisco, CA	$103,990	+33%	1.9×
New York, NY	$103,900	+33%	2.1×
Washington, DC	$97,320	+25%	1.4×

Same job elsewhere in WI

Metro	Median pay	vs Madison	Rent vs Madison
Milwaukee, WI	$78,260	+0%	0.9×
Appleton, WI	$76,980	−1%	0.7×
Green Bay, WI	$75,320	−3%	0.7×

Staying in WI keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Who hires accountants & auditors around Madison

Large local employers in sectors that typically employ this role.

• American Family Insurance · Finance

Other jobs in Madison