Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madison vs. Indianapolis Cost of Living Summary
Madison is 7.2% more expensive than Indianapolis.
Madison vs. Indianapolis Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madison instead of Indianapolis, you would:
pay 1.6% more for restaurants
|
Indianapolis
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.23
|
$3.15
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.71
|
$2.47
|
|
Indianapolis vs. Madison - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.5% more for groceries
|
Indianapolis
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.36
|
$3.50
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.20
|
$7.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.28
|
$3.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.68
|
$3.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.69
|
$5.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.52
|
$2.13
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.73
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$2.38
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$2.20
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.28
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$1.38
|
|
Indianapolis vs. Madison - Cost of groceries
pay 6.5% more for transportation
|
Indianapolis
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.58
|
$3.87
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$65.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,915.00
|
$35,957.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.68
|
$20.00
|
|
Indianapolis vs. Madison - Cost of transportation
pay 11.1% more for housing
|
Indianapolis
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.41
|
$82.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,720.00
|
$1,789.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,350.00
|
$1,544.62
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$176.38
|
$206.36
|
|
Indianapolis vs. Madison - Cost of housing
pay 2.4% less for childcare
|
Indianapolis
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,752.97
|
$1,722.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,189.88
|
$23,429.75
|
|
Indianapolis vs. Madison - Cost of childcare
pay 13.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Indianapolis
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.25
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.69
|
$5.73
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.20
|
$10.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.12
|
$58.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Indianapolis vs. Madison - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.6% more for clothing
|
Indianapolis
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.33
|
$64.22
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.66
|
$50.56
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.54
|
$107.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$144.68
|
$121.80
|
|
Indianapolis vs. Madison - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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