Madison, WI, is undoubtedly one of the best small towns in America. The city is known for its five beautiful lakes, many city parks and quirky urban secrets. A global food scene and Farmer's Market also make it a “foodie” paradise.
The State Capitol building is the city’s center, surrounded by museums, local businesses and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace. Madison is also home to the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin and the nationally-ranked UW Hospital system.
When you are ready to live in Madison, let us help you find your perfect neighborhood to call home.
We combed through Google data using generic keyword searches and combined those results with the most searched Madison neighborhoods on ApartmentGuide.com to determine the five most popular Madison neighborhoods with renters.
Our data found the most popular Madison neighborhoods are just a short walk to the lakes and to the State Capitol Square. Your neighbors are students, doctors, small business owners and local politicians.
Here is a quick overview of each neighborhood and what you’d expect to pay for rent in each area.
Downtown is Madison’s oldest neighborhood complete with award-winning restaurants, a bustling arts and nightlife scene and an expansive Saturday Farmer’s Market (Sundays in the winter). It’s the heart and soul of the city and it’s right outside your door when you rent Downtown. Living on “the Isthmus” also guarantees incredible views of the State Capitol Dome, Lake Monona and Lake Mendota, but comes with above average rental prices.
Regent is a booming neighborhood for sports fans and hospital employees. There is a healthy balance of affordable new apartment buildings on Monroe Street and near the hospital along with vintage Madison residences. Camp Randall Stadium anchors this neighborhood, so loving Badger football is a must to live this close.
Once a blue-collar district, Schenk-Atwood is an East Side neighborhood that has transformed into a hip and vibrant community with a booming food and music scene. This corner of Lake Monona is a haven for foodies and has some of Madison’s most-loved institutions: Willy Street Co-op, the Barrymore Theater, the Harmony Bar and Olbrich Botanical Gardens.
This is Madison’s hottest student neighborhood. Grab a beer or some campus-made ice cream and join the crowds at the Memorial Union Terrace. Nearby, everyone knows the best meals in the city come from the food trucks outside of Memorial Library. New construction on University Avenue means new apartment options, as well as a new shopping and lifestyle hub for rental prices lower than the city average.
Ice-skating in Tenney Park is a Madison highlight. If you rent in this majestic neighborhood, you can choose from new buildings with ultra-modern amenities, as well as early-20th-century gems. Renters here love the vintage woodwork and charm. The shops and restaurants on State Street are just around the corner and Lake Mendota is your personal waterfront.
Felix is an SEO Analyst specializing in demographics, rent trends, economic data and measuring user intent. He primarily focuses on the retail, transportation and real estate industries, and his work has appeared in the Stanford Undergraduate Economics Journal. Felix holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan.