Best PlacesMarquette, Madison, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Marquette, 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.
Marquette, Madison ranks 972nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Marquette, 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.
Marquette, Madison's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marquette, Madison ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Marquette, Madison ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,303 a month, better than only 38% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 40% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Marquette, Madison
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marquette, Madison home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,224, 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 Marquette, Madison's effective rate of 1.61%, 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 Marquette, Madison
Marquette, 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 Marquette, Madison.
Who works in Marquette, Madison, and how
Work in Marquette, Madison centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 48%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 27%
Life in Marquette, Madison
Marquette, Madison has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Marquette, Madison and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Marquette, Madison, month by month
Marquette, 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 Marquette, Madison
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marquette, Madison
Schools across Marquette, Madison average a B−, better than 58% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Marquette ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Lowell ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- O'keeffe MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- East HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marquette, Madison school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marquette, 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 Marquette, Madison against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Marquette, Madison
Is Marquette, Madison a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marquette, Madison ranks 972nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, heat safety, and few empty homes, and lowest on property taxes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marquette, Madison expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $485,813. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $95,224 median income, cost of living beats 71% of neighborhoods.
Is Marquette, Madison safe?
Marquette, Madison is safer than 17% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $732 per resident a year.
Compare Marquette, Madison with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marquette, Madison. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marquette, 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.
Marquette, Madison detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marquette, Madison: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marquette, Madison: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marquette, Madison: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marquette, Madison: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marquette, 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.