City of Madison Housing Tracker

The Housing Tracker uses data from the Building Inspection and Community Development Divisions within the City of Madison’s Department of Planning, Community, and Economic Development. Data is exported from the City’s internal record-keeping systems into a spreadsheet that is directly linked to a Power BI dashboard, which is able to populate the charts and maps you see on the Housing Tracker.

The Housing Tracker’s maps rely on an automated mapping service. Addresses from the Building Inspection records result in approximate locations shown. Occasional errors are possible, but the maps still provide a good overview of where new housing is being built in Madison. Exact addresses are not shown on maps in order to protect the privacy of property owners.

The Housing Tracker will be updated monthly, with the date of the last update being displayed on the first page of the dashboard.

The City of Madison typically sees more housing completions in the spring and summer than in the fall and winter, so City staff anticipates seeing numbers rise more quickly during the warmer months. Developments can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to complete (from the start of construction to getting occupancy permits from the Building Inspection Division), so it will take some time for projects to move from “under construction” to “completed.”

The City of Madison uses the standards set by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), which produces updated calculations annually based on the Area Median Income (AMI) for each county across the state.

The City generally considers “affordable” units to be those that are reserved for renter households making no more than 60% of Dane County’s AMI, or homeowners making no more than 80% of Dane County’s AMI. Rents for those units are also capped at 30% of those income levels in units considered to be affordable are set by their income category, rather than by the household income.

For example, if one person is renting a 60% AMI one-bedroom apartment, their rent would be capped at $1,417 per month, which is 30% of what someone making 60% AMI would make in a month. That monthly rent would likely be the same even if someone making 57% AMI rents a 60% AMI unit, meaning that person would likely be spending more than 30% of their monthly income on housing (although it would also mean they could stay in that apartment if they received a pay raise that took them up to 60% AMI).

In 2024, Dane County’s AMI was $88,2000 for a single person or $125,900 for a household of four people. That means 60% AMI would translate to an income of no more than $52,900 for a single person or $75,540 for a household of four people.

City staff understands that many people living in Madison have incomes lower than that. A 2024 report from the City of Madison Housing Strategy Committee found that the median renter living in Madison has an income of $46,151. That is why many City initiatives are focusing on creating more housing options for those making no more than 30% of the AMI, which translates to $26,450 for a single person or $37,750 for a household of four.

Importantly, the Housing Tracker only shows new housing developed with a legal agreement to meet certain affordability levels for the long term (ranging from 30 years to permanently affordable).