Best PlacesCapitol, Madison, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Capitol, Madison, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Capitol, Madison ranks 3,180th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Capitol, Madison
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Capitol, Madison's strengths and weaknesses
Where Capitol, Madison ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Capitol, Madison ranks low
- Household income$34,314 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Capitol, Madison
A household needs to earn about $206,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Capitol, Madison home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $34,314, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Capitol, Madison's effective rate of 1.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Capitol, Madison
Capitol, Madison runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Capitol, Madison.
Who works in Capitol, Madison, and how
Work in Capitol, Madison centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 33%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 53%
Life in Capitol, Madison
Capitol, Madison has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 80% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Capitol, Madison and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Capitol, Madison, month by month
Capitol, Madison sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Capitol, Madison
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around Capitol, Madison
Schools across Capitol, Madison average an A−, better than 93% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Randall Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hamilton MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- O'keeffe MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Capitol, Madison school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Capitol, Madison measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Capitol, Madison against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Capitol, Madison suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Capitol, Madison
Is Capitol, Madison a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Capitol, Madison ranks 3,180th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, cheap car insurance, and walkability, and lowest on low incomes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Capitol, Madison expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $708,142. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $34,314 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Capitol, Madison safe?
Capitol, Madison is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $870 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Capitol, Madison?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 14. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of neighborhoods.
Is Capitol, Madison good for families?
Schools beat 93% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $1,303 a month.
Compare Capitol, Madison with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Capitol, Madison. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Capitol, Madison represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Capitol, Madison detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Capitol, Madison: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Capitol, Madison: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Capitol, Madison: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Capitol, Madison: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Capitol, Madison detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.