How It Works
The calculator follows your money month by month for the years you enter.
- Buying: you pay the down payment and closing costs, then principal and interest, property tax, utilities and whatever you enter for insurance, upkeep, PMI or HOA fees. Property tax uses your town's 2025 rate after estimated state credits, as in our tax rates by town study. Utilities use your town's rates, as in our utility comparison. Both stay at today's rates.
- Renting: you pay rent, raised once a year by the percentage you enter, plus any utilities and insurance you enter.
- The money that isn't spent: the renter keeps the down payment and closing costs invested. Each month, whichever side pays less invests the difference at the return you enter.
- At the end: the owner sells. From the home's value come the loan balance, Wisconsin's real estate transfer fee ($3 per $1,000 of value) and the selling costs you enter. Then the calculator compares what each side has.
Income taxes aren't modeled: no mortgage interest or property tax deduction, and no tax on investment gains. When you sell your main home, much of the gain is often tax-free; see selling a house in Wisconsin.
What Moves the Answer
- How long you stay. Buying has up-front costs and selling costs that take years to earn back. Try a few lengths of stay.
- Home price change and return on savings. These are guesses about the future. The calculator leaves them at zero until you enter something, so it never assumes prices go up.
- Your town's tax rate. The same house pays noticeably different tax in different towns; see the true cost of owning for each town's monthly numbers.
- Credits. Lower-income renters and owners may get the Wisconsin homestead credit, and owners get the lottery and gaming credit on their main home.
Rent and Home Values by Town
The calculator starts from these Census figures for the town you pick. They are 2020 to 2024 averages from the American Community Survey and lag today's market, so replace them with a real rent and a real listing.(Census Bureau) The last column is a median-value home with 20% down at 7.40% over 30 years, plus tax and typical utilities, before insurance and upkeep.
| Town | Median gross rent | Median home value | Owning that home, a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage Grove | $1,531 | $449,700 | $3,372 |
| DeForest | $1,442 | $359,600 | $2,683 |
| Fitchburg | $1,373 | $417,200 | $3,083 |
| Madison | $1,413 | $372,900 | $2,837 |
| Maple Bluff | $1,438 | $882,700 | $6,419 |
| McFarland | $1,458 | $390,100 | $2,915 |
| Middleton | $1,437 | $484,200 | $3,467 |
| Monona | $1,275 | $427,900 | $3,219 |
| Mount Horeb | $1,240 | $388,900 | $2,861 |
| Oregon | $1,221 | $417,200 | $3,065 |
| Shorewood Hills | $1,919 | $939,900 | $6,701 |
| Stoughton | $1,157 | $293,500 | $2,216 |
| Sun Prairie | $1,419 | $365,700 | $2,754 |
| Verona | $1,605 | $420,400 | $3,067 |
| Waunakee | $1,324 | $515,900 | $3,643 |
Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25064 and B25077(data.census.gov). Small towns have wide margins of error. Rights and rules for renters: renting in Wisconsin.
Questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Madison?
It depends on how long you stay, the price and rent you're comparing, and what you expect prices, rents and savings to do, which nobody can promise. The calculator uses Madison's real tax and utility rates and makes you enter those guesses yourself, so you can see which ones flip the answer.
What does the Census median rent include?
Gross rent, which is contract rent plus the utilities the renter pays, so apartments with and without utilities compare evenly.(Census Bureau) If you start from that number, leave renter utilities blank.
What costs of selling are included?
Wisconsin's real estate transfer fee, $3 for each $1,000 of the sale price, is always included. Agent commissions and other selling costs are negotiable, so you enter them as a percentage.
Does the calculator include tax deductions?
No. Whether mortgage interest and property tax deductions help depends on whether you itemize, and the calculator doesn't model income tax. It also leaves out tax on investment gains. Wisconsin renters and owners may qualify for the homestead credit, which is a separate calculation.