Oklahoma City → Madison

Moving from Oklahoma City to Madison shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 90.4 to 97.3 (100 = US average), so a Oklahoma City salary needs to be multiplied by 1.08 to hold the same purchasing power in Madison. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,244/month in Oklahoma City to $1,195/month in Madison - a lower monthly bill of $49, or $588/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $63,824 in Oklahoma City versus $72,527 in Madison - a raw gap of $8,703 higher. The Madison labor market has 399,040 tracked jobs against 665,370 in Oklahoma City, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Oklahoma City and Madison are 428 and 280 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 16.1:1 at origin versus 14.4:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $10,666/year in Oklahoma City versus $11,256/year in Madison. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.