Madison Rent Report: March 2025
Welcome to the Apartment List March 2025 Rent Report for Madison, WI. Currently, the overall median rent in the city stands at $1,583, after falling 0.6% last month. Prices remain up 4.7% year-over-year. Read on to learn more about what’s been happening in the Madison rental market and how it compares to trends throughout the nation as a whole.
Madison rents are down 0.6% month-over-month and up 4.7% year-over-year
The median rent in Madison fell by 0.6% over the course of February, and has now increased by a total of 4.7% over the past 12 months. Madison’s rent growth over the past year has has outpaced both state (2.0%) and national (-0.4%) averages.
Madison rent growth in 2025 pacing below last year
Two months into the year, rents in Madison have fallen 0.6%. This is a slower rate of growth compared to what the city was experiencing at this point last year: from January to February 2024 rents had increased 0.5%.
February rent growth in Madison ranked #95 among large U.S. cities
Madison rents went down 0.6% in the past month, compared to the national rate of 0.3%. Among the nation's 100 largest cities, this ranks #95. Similar monthly rent growth took place in Spokane, WA (-0.5%) and Huntsville, AL (-0.6%).
Madison is the #37 most expensive large city in the U.S., with a median rent of $1,583
Citywide, the median rent currently stands at $1,449 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $1,665 for a 2-bedroom. Across all bedroom sizes (ie, the entire rental market), the median rent is $1,583. That ranks #37 in the nation, among the country's 100 largest cities.
For comparison, the median rent across the nation as a whole is $1,208 for a 1-bedroom, $1,361 for a 2-bedroom, and $1,375 overall. The median rent in Madison is 15.1% higher than the national, and is similar to the prices you would find in Aurora, CO ($1,597) and Tampa, FL ($1,553).
Methodology
Apartment List is committed to the accuracy and transparency of our rent estimates. We begin with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, capturing apartment transactions over time to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country. Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. For more details, please see the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology.
Data Access
Apartment List publishes monthly rent reports and underlying data for hundreds of cities across the nation, as well as data aggregated for counties, metros, and states. These data are intended to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions. Insights from our data are covered regularly by journalists across the country. To access the data yourself, please visit our Data Downloads Page.
