A Ford Explorer here costs about 4 percent more now than it did a year ago. The cost of dry cleaning a pair of pants at Klinke Cleaners is 6 percent more now than it was a year ago. Housing costs are a major factor putting pressure on the cost of living in the Madison area. A look at postings of homes sold and resold outside the Madison Assessor's Office brings the numbers to life. The rising cost of homes has l pushed up assessments in Dane County and though tax rates have.
Experts say housing costs finally started to stabilize last fall, after years of explosive growth.
Against these indicators, Madison area wages increased an average of 3.7 percent in 1995, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics . Experts say the city's abundance of student and part-time, workers and its lack of unionized positions in industry have helped keep wages and wage increases below national averages. On the other hand, the labor pinch the area has experienced in recent years has tended to lift the wages of the lowest paid. But the experts also emphasize that many workers here have more than one job, providing them with extra income. Currently, both public officials and citizens who need economic information about Madison rely on the Consumer Price Index , a detailed measure of inflation produced by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.