Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madison vs. Atlanta Cost of Living Summary
Madison is 3.3% more expensive than Atlanta.
Madison vs. Atlanta Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madison instead of Atlanta, you would:
pay 9.8% less for restaurants
|
Atlanta
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.21
|
$2.25
|
|
Atlanta vs. Madison - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.9% less for groceries
|
Atlanta
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.81
|
$3.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.98
|
$7.49
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.85
|
$3.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.25
|
$4.13
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.62
|
$5.56
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.32
|
$2.02
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.64
|
$0.69
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.66
|
$2.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.51
|
$1.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.28
|
$1.40
|
|
Atlanta vs. Madison - Cost of groceries
pay 1.5% less for transportation
|
Atlanta
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.98
|
$3.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$95.00
|
$62.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,901.81
|
$29,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$21.90
|
|
Atlanta vs. Madison - Cost of transportation
pay 0.6% less for housing
|
Atlanta
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.27
|
$72.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,814.80
|
$1,713.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,517.12
|
$1,488.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$147.95
|
$163.91
|
|
Atlanta vs. Madison - Cost of housing
pay 12.2% more for childcare
|
Atlanta
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,240.00
|
$1,628.82
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,413.80
|
$24,601.00
|
|
Atlanta vs. Madison - Cost of childcare
pay 14.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Atlanta
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.00
|
$5.54
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.09
|
$57.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.50
|
$15.00
|
|
Atlanta vs. Madison - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.2% more for clothing
|
Atlanta
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.21
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.62
|
$48.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.25
|
$103.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.44
|
$124.00
|
|
Atlanta vs. Madison - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: October 2026
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