Best PlacesSherman, Madison, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Sherman, 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.
Sherman, Madison ranks 3,652nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sherman, 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.
Sherman, Madison's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sherman, Madison ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Short commute20.3 minutes each way, better than 78% of neighborhoods
Where Sherman, Madison ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Household income$57,573 median, better than only 24% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 28% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Sherman, Madison
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sherman, Madison home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,573, 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 Sherman, Madison's effective rate of 1.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sherman, Madison
Sherman, 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 Sherman, Madison.
Who works in Sherman, Madison, and how
Work in Sherman, Madison centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Sherman, Madison
Sherman, Madison has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 98% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sherman, Madison and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Sherman, Madison, month by month
Sherman, 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 Sherman, Madison
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sherman, Madison
Schools across Sherman, Madison average a C−, better than 30% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Emerson ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Mendota ElementaryD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- O'keeffe MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Sherman MiddleD · 20% proficient
- Black Hawk MiddleD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- West HighB+ · 56% proficient
- East HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Shabazz-city HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sherman, Madison school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sherman, 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 Sherman, Madison against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Sherman, Madison
Is Sherman, Madison a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sherman, Madison ranks 3,652nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, civic engagement, and heat safety, and lowest on a weak job market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sherman, Madison expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,474. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $57,573 median income, cost of living beats 28% of neighborhoods.
Is Sherman, Madison safe?
Sherman, Madison is safer than 19% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $710 per resident a year.
Compare Sherman, Madison with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sherman, Madison. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sherman, 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.
Sherman, Madison detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sherman, Madison: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sherman, Madison: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sherman, Madison: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sherman, Madison: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sherman, 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.