Madison Wisconsin racks up yet another "Best City" award this month, this time for Kiplinger's "Best Cities for Young Adults". With a population of just over a half a million people in the Madison metropolitan area and an unemployment rate of 4.9% (the national unemployment rate is 8.2%), Madison tops out the list of best cities to live in for young adults in part because of its relatively low cost-of-living index of 108.2 (the national average is 100) and average rent of $849 per month for a one bedroom apartment (the national average is $959). The median household income for Madison, WI currently stands at $58,775 (the national median household income is $43,024).
More important than statistics, however, is the vibrant and energetic feel of Madison's educated, tech-savvy population. It's not just a beautiful campus town surrounded by lakes and filled with parks, brewpubs, and restaurants, it's also a place you can explore careers in academia and engineering or in white-hot startups like Sonic Foundry, Raven Software, Shoutlet or, alternatively, pursue a dream of your own. Wisconsin offers a 25% tax credit to local angel investors who invest in the early stages of emerging startups and recipients of angel financing do not need to pay back the credit for the first three years even if their business goes under or is acquired.
But if startups, tech companies, and academia are not your thing, there are still plenty of great places in Madison to launch a career. Some of Madison's larger corporations include American Family Insurance, Cuna Mutual, WPS, and Sub-Zero. And no matter where you land career-wise, when you're ready to buy a home in Madison WI, Lake & City Homes Realty has you covered. Madison has a fantastic supply of affordable single-family homes and condos for first-time home buyers.
For the complete article, including other cities that made Kiplinger's top picks, click here.
Posted by Jolenta Averill on
The most impressive thing is that the unemployment rate is half the national average. Maybe being a university town is the golden ticket to surviving a particularly bad economic downturn.
Posted by Alex Aguilar on Monday, October 1st, 2012 at 12:44pmLeave A Comment