Salary comparison
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks: Madison vs Santa Rosa
Madison, WI pays about 19.3% more for court, municipal, and license clerks on paper — $75,990 vs $63,720. But once you factor in what it costs to live there, Madison comes out ahead by $12,270 a year in real buying power.
Madison, WI
$75,990
$50,400
$75,990
$36.54
100
$75,990/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
Santa Rosa, CA
$63,720
$60,460
$76,420
$30.64
100
$63,720/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
What the numbers mean in practice
The headline gap is $12,270 a year (19.3%) in favor of Madison. That is the raw salary difference before any living costs.
Madison runs a cost index of 100 against the national baseline of 100; Santa Rosa sits at 100. After adjusting the median for those costs, Madison is the better deal by $12,270 a year — that is what each paycheck actually buys locally.
If you are weighing a move from Santa Rosa to Madison for this role, the raise needs to beat 19.3% to come out ahead after living costs. Anything below that and you are earning more on paper but keeping less.
Common questions
Where do court, municipal, and license clerks earn more, Madison or Santa Rosa?
Madison pays $75,990 on median — about 19.3% more than Santa Rosa ($63,720). Based on BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Which city is the better deal after living costs?
Madison. Once you divide each median by the local cost index, Madison gives you roughly$75,990 of real buying power versus $63,720 in the other city.