What's in the Number
- Principal and interest. The standard fixed-rate payment on the loan amount. The starting rate is the national weekly average from Freddie Mac's survey(Freddie Mac); the rate on your Loan Estimate is the one to use.
- Property tax. Price × the town's assessment ratio × the net mill rate for your school district, minus the state's first dollar credit and, for your main home, the lottery and gaming credit. These are the same 2025 rates (bills paid in 2026) as our property tax rates by town study, and the credits are estimated the same way.(Wisconsin DOR)
- Utilities. Electric, gas, water, sewer and stormwater at your town's PSC-approved and local rates, the same math as our utility cost comparison. Electric is the base rate, before monthly fuel adjustments and the state low-income fee. Gas uses the October 2026 price per therm, which changes every month. In Madison, part of the stormwater charge depends on your lot's hard-surface area; add it to include that part.
- What you add. Homeowners insurance, upkeep, mortgage insurance and HOA fees. They vary too much by house to guess, so the tool leaves them out until you enter them. With less than 20% down on a conventional loan, a lender may require private mortgage insurance.(CFPB)
Trash, recycling and other municipal charges aren't included. In Madison, see the Municipal Services Bill for each charge.
The Same House in a Different Town
A $400,000 house used as your main home, with typical use (500 kWh, 720 therms a year, 4,000 gallons a month), in each town's largest school district. The payment doesn't change from town to town, so this is the part that does: tax and utilities, a month.
| Town | Tax per $1,000 of value | Property tax | Utilities | Together |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waunakee | 14.49 | $457 | $188 | $645 |
| Middleton | 14.88 | $470 | $211 | $681 |
| Verona | 15.74 | $493 | $219 | $712 |
| Mount Horeb | 15.99 | $507 | $215 | $722 |
| Oregon | 15.78 | $498 | $233 | $731 |
| Stoughton | 16.96 | $541 | $199 | $741 |
| DeForest | 16.25 | $515 | $231 | $746 |
| Fitchburg | 16.81 | $530 | $219 | $748 |
| McFarland | 16.24 | $515 | $253 | $767 |
| Sun Prairie | 17.87 | $565 | $215 | $780 |
| Shorewood Hills | 15.83 | $497 | $286 | $783 |
| Monona | 17.62 | $557 | $249 | $806 |
| Maple Bluff* | 17.95 | $568 | $239 | $807 |
| Cottage Grove | 17.66 | $558 | $249 | $808 |
| Madison | 18.18 | $575 | $238 | $813 |
Tax at 2025 rates after estimated credits; utilities at 2026 rates, with stormwater where the town bills it as a flat charge (Madison's per-parcel part only). *No published sewer rate was found for Maple Bluff, so sewer is left out there. Sources: each town's entry in our town comparison.
A Median-Priced Home in Each Town
Using the Census Bureau's median value of owner-occupied homes in each town as the price(Census ACS), with 20% down on a 30-year loan at 7.40%, before insurance and upkeep. Census medians are averages over 2020 to 2024 and are what owners said their homes were worth, so they run behind today's listings. *Sewer not included (no published rate found).
| Town | Median value | Principal and interest | Tax | Utilities | A month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage Grove | $449,700 | $2,491 | $632 | $249 | $3,372 |
| DeForest | $359,600 | $1,992 | $460 | $231 | $2,683 |
| Fitchburg | $417,200 | $2,311 | $554 | $219 | $3,083 |
| Madison | $372,900 | $2,066 | $534 | $238 | $2,837 |
| Maple Bluff* | $882,700 | $4,889 | $1,290 | $239 | $6,419 |
| McFarland | $390,100 | $2,161 | $501 | $253 | $2,915 |
| Middleton | $484,200 | $2,682 | $574 | $211 | $3,467 |
| Monona | $427,900 | $2,370 | $598 | $251 | $3,219 |
| Mount Horeb | $388,900 | $2,154 | $493 | $215 | $2,861 |
| Oregon | $417,200 | $2,311 | $521 | $233 | $3,065 |
| Shorewood Hills | $939,900 | $5,206 | $1,209 | $286 | $6,701 |
| Stoughton | $293,500 | $1,626 | $391 | $199 | $2,216 |
| Sun Prairie | $365,700 | $2,026 | $514 | $215 | $2,754 |
| Verona | $420,400 | $2,329 | $520 | $219 | $3,067 |
| Waunakee | $515,900 | $2,858 | $597 | $188 | $3,643 |
How Much House You Can Afford
Put your monthly budget in the calculator, the most you want to spend on the whole house each month, and it finds the price that fits in your chosen town. Because tax and utilities differ, the same budget buys a different price in each town. A lender decides how much it will lend under its own rules, which this doesn't model.
Before you buy, see rent or buy for the long-run comparison, down payment help in Dane County, and the buyer's guide. Selling the place you have now? See selling a house in Wisconsin for the transfer fee and what you'd net.
Questions
How much house can I afford in Madison?
It depends on your rate, down payment and budget, so the calculator works it backward: enter what you can spend a month in total and it shows the price that fits in each town after property tax and utilities. As one example, a $372,900 Madison home (the Census median value) with 20% down at 7.40% costs about $2,837 a month before insurance and upkeep. Lenders apply their own approval rules on top of this.
What does owning a home cost each month besides the mortgage?
Property tax, utilities, homeowners insurance, upkeep, and for some loans mortgage insurance or an HOA fee. Here, tax and utilities come from your town's published rates; insurance, upkeep, PMI and HOA fees vary too much from house to house to guess, so you enter your own.
Which Dane County town has the lowest property tax and utility costs?
For the same $400,000 house with typical use, Waunakee came out lowest ($645 a month for tax and utilities) and Madison highest ($813), at 2025 tax rates and 2026 utility rates. The tax rate does most of the work.
Why is the property tax lower than price times the mill rate?
Two reasons. Each town assesses homes at its own fraction of market value (the assessment ratio), and the state's first dollar and lottery and gaming credits come off the bill. The lottery credit only applies to your main home.(Wisconsin DOR)