What are the best affordable, mid-sized cities in Wisconsin?

There are a number of factors you might consider when picking a city to live in — attractions, walkability, culture, cost of living.

But if affordability makes the top of your list, two Wisconsin cities might be your best bets. Madison and Appleton are among the 100 best cities to live in the United States in 2024, according to Livability, a website that evaluates cities across the country.

For its annual ranking, Livability zeroes in on small and mid-sized cities across the country — “the crowd-pleasing, best places to live that leave you with money left over after paying your rent or mortgage,” the website said. Only cities with a median home value of $500,000 or under and a population between 75,000 and 500,000 were eligible for the list.

Here’s what set Madison and Appleton apart and which other cities made the list.

What makes Madison a best place to live?

Madison is a city where “Midwest magic comes to life in so many ways,” according to Livability.

The website doesn’t officially rank all 100 cities, instead assigning each city a score out of 1,000. A city’s final score is determined from more than 100 data quality-of-life data points, ranging from health care access and school quality to commute times and shopping options.