Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater → Madison

Moving from Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater to Madison shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 103.7 to 97.3 (100 = US average), so a Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater salary needs to be multiplied by 0.94 to hold the same purchasing power in Madison. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,960/month in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater to $1,195/month in Madison - a lower monthly bill of $765, or $9,180/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 $77,750 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater versus $72,527 in Madison - a raw gap of $5,223 lower. The Madison labor market has 399,040 tracked jobs against 123,100 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, 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 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Madison are 329 and 280 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 17.6:1 at origin versus 14.4:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $15,987/year in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 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.