Moving to Delaware from Wisconsin
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Wisconsin to Delaware — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Wisconsin to Delaware, you would find that Delaware is 14.5% more expensive than Wisconsin. A $75,000 salary in Wisconsin would need to be roughly $85,900 in Delaware to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Dover averages 66°F vs 56°F in Madison, making it significantly warmer.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Wisconsin to Delaware.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $85,900
To maintain the same standard of living in Delaware
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 8.2% less
Groceries
pay 11.0% more
Transportation
pay 2.2% less
Housing
pay 33.7% more
Childcare
pay 22.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.4% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Delaware cost about 6% less than cities in Wisconsin.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Wisconsin and Delaware stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Wisconsin performs better than Delaware across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Delaware leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Wisconsin generally does better on what about housing?, though Delaware leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Wisconsin generally does better on infrastructure, though Delaware leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Delaware generally does better on employment & economy, though Wisconsin leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Wisconsin generally does better on family life, though Delaware leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Madison | Dover |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 33°/17°F (1°/-8°C) | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/46°F (20°/8°C) | 75°/54°F (24°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/57°F (25°/14°C) | 84°/65°F (29°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 44°/28°F (7°/-2°C) | 58°/40°F (15°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Madison | Dover |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26°/11°F (-3.1°/-11.6°C) | 43°/27°F (6.3°/-2.7°C) |
| Feb | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.4°C) | 47°/29°F (8.3°/-1.7°C) |
| Mar | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-4.0°C) | 55°/36°F (12.7°/2.0°C) |
| Apr | 57°/36°F (14.1°/2.1°C) | 66°/44°F (18.7°/6.8°C) |
| May | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) | 75°/54°F (23.7°/12.1°C) |
| Jun | 78°/56°F (25.5°/13.4°C) | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.4°C) |
| Jul | 82°/61°F (27.6°/16.1°C) | 87°/68°F (30.6°/20.2°C) |
| Aug | 79°/59°F (26.3°/15.0°C) | 85°/67°F (29.6°/19.4°C) |
| Sep | 72°/50°F (22.1°/10.1°C) | 79°/60°F (26.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.9°/3.8°C) | 69°/49°F (20.4°/9.3°C) |
| Nov | 44°/28°F (6.7°/-2.1°C) | 58°/40°F (14.7°/4.3°C) |
| Dec | 30°/16°F (-1.0°/-8.9°C) | 47°/31°F (8.6°/-0.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Delaware than Wisconsin?
Day-to-day costs in Delaware run about 15% higher than Wisconsin on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Delaware?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $21,475 in Delaware for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Delaware safe?
Wisconsin performs better than Delaware across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Delaware compared to Wisconsin?
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Delaware leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Delaware compared to Wisconsin?
The average high temperature in Dover is 66°F, compared to 56°F in Madison. Dover receives around 46.1 in of rainfall per year, while Madison gets 34.5 in.
