66 census tracts

Madison.Wisconsin housing market

This Madison housing market report covers about 124,000 homes across 66 census tracts. Only 4.0% of homes are vacant, lower than in 131 of the 139 markets PriceDNA tracks. For August 2026, the average listing price is $515,067 across 465 active listings (Realtor.com Economic Research, Monthly Housing Inventory).

Aerial view of the Wisconsin State Capitol and Madison isthmus at dusk
The Wisconsin State Capitol and the Madison isthmus at dusk. Andrew Jalbert/Adobe Stock
Average listing price
$515,067
465 active listings · Realtor.com Economic Research, Monthly Housing Inventory · August 2026
Population growth
+0.8%
a year, 2020 to 2025 · Census population estimates
Approximate homes
124,000
across 66 assigned tracts
Vacant homes
4.0%
of all homes
Renter-occupied
55%
of occupied homes

Madison housing market context

These are city-level figures. To see how one property measures up against your goal, run a specific address.

01.

Location score distribution

How location scores vary across 66 census tracts in Madison.

median 84.3 66 93

Half of Madison's tracts score between 81 and 87. The full range spans 66 to 93, with a median of 84.3.

Distribution of tract scores
Median (84.3)
Mean (83.7)

What the location score shows

PriceDNA Location Score™ is a 0 to 100 signal designed to summarize local strength and risk context for rental-property analysis. Higher scores generally point to stronger location fundamentals.

The middle half of Madison's tracts is 5.9 points wide on the score, narrower than in 85 of the 139 markets PriceDNA tracks.

To see the location score for your specific property, analyze a property

02.

Housing composition

Key housing statistics for approximately 124,000 homes in Madison, including occupancy, tenure, and structure type.

Tenure of occupied homes: owner 45%, renter 55%.
Tenure of occupied homes Owner 45% · Renter 55%
Housing occupancy: occupied 96.0%, vacant 4.0%.
Occupancy Occupied 96.0% · Vacant 4.0%

Of about 124,000 homes, 4.0% are vacant. Among occupied homes, 55% are renter-occupied, providing context on the size of the local rental base.

By structure type, about 44% of Madison’s housing units are in single-family structures, 11% in small multifamily buildings (2 to 4 units), and 44% in larger multifamily buildings (5+ units). Percentages are rounded; small residual structure categories are not shown.

03.

How Madison compares

Madison's median is above the Wisconsin median on 5 of these 8 measures and above the U.S. median on 6. The city range shows the lower quarter, median and upper quarter of its census tracts.

How Madison compares with Wisconsin and United States medians
Metric Madison lower · median · upper Madison Wisconsin WI United States US
Census ACS B19013 · 2020 to 2024
$67,912 $84,320 $95,626 $74,851 $77,171
Census ACS B15003 · 2020 to 2024
58% 66% 75% 41% 41%
Census ACS B01001 · 2020 to 2024
36% 41% 48% 30% 32%
FHFA HPI · 2025
6.7% 6.7% 7.2% 7.1% 5.2%
HUD SAFMR · 2018 to 2027 + Census ACS B25064 · 2014 to 2024
3.6% 4.1% 4.3% 3.5% 3.8%
Census ACS B25103 · 2020 to 2024 + Lincoln Institute
2.05% every tract 2.05% 1.65%
Census ACS B25141 · 2020 to 2024 + U.S. Treasury FIO
0.29% 0.32% 0.36% 0.50% 0.56%
Census ACS B25064 + B19013 · 2020 to 2024
26.6% 29.6% 36.0% 26.8% 30.8%
04.

About this data

PriceDNA uses the most local reliable data available for each metric. Some signals are available at the census-tract level. Others are published or more reliable at broader geographies such as county, metro, state, or national level.

Housing-unit totals are approximate. PriceDNA sums Census ACS counts for the tracts assigned to the city by centroid, so the market total can differ from a municipal boundary count when a tract crosses the city line.

The property-tax assumption combines local residential tax data with a state-level apartment benchmark to provide more conservative context for rental-property underwriting. Insurance assumptions use available residential property insurance data and should be verified for the specific property and coverage.

These pages are designed for market screening and investor education. They do not replace property-level underwriting, inspections, appraisals, insurance quotes, lender review, or professional advice.

05.

Nearby markets

Market pages for other cities within 300 miles.

You've seen Madison. Now analyze a specific address.

PriceDNA's goal-convergent valuation shows the purchase price that supports your investing goal, not just the market average.