Demographics of Madison city, Wisconsin

Madison city, Wisconsin had 286,233 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +11,382 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Madison city, in four figures

286,233
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 278,001 ±92.; +4.1%
Change since July 2020: +11,382 people.; 31.8 ±0.4
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $78,050 ±$2,037
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Madison city, Wisconsin's population grew 4.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Madison city, Wisconsin's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Madison city, Wisconsin's population grew 4.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Madison city, Wisconsin's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	274,851	100.0	100.0
2021	271,089	98.6	100.2
2022	277,322	100.9	100.7
2023	280,941	102.2	101.6
2024	284,278	103.4	102.5
2025	286,233	104.1	103.1

Population of Madison city, Wisconsin on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	274,851	—
2021	271,089	−3,762
2022	277,322	+6,233
2023	280,941	+3,619
2024	284,278	+3,337
2025	286,233	+1,955

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 31.8 ±0.4: for men 31.5 ±0.3 and for women 32.2 ±0.4. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Madison city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Under 5	13,161 ±706	4.7% ±0.3	5.3% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	31,554 ±1,315	11.4% ±0.5	16.0% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	57,598 ±2,172	20.7% ±0.8	9.3% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	87,502 ±1,879	31.5% ±0.7	25.2% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	51,946 ±1,516	18.7% ±0.5	25.6% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	36,240 ±1,355	13.0% ±0.5	18.5% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $78,050 ±$2,037, and income per person $49,425 ±$1,941, in 2024 dollars. The median is $77,485 ±$455 in Wisconsin and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Madison city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Under $25,000	19,619 ±1,255	15.3% ±1.0	13.1% ±0.2	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	22,386 ±1,352	17.5% ±1.0	17.9% ±0.2	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	20,315 ±1,242	15.8% ±1.0	17.5% ±0.2	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	15,936 ±1,011	12.4% ±0.8	13.8% ±0.2	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	22,488 ±1,111	17.5% ±0.8	19.1% ±0.2	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	12,916 ±811	10.1% ±0.6	9.4% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	14,601 ±883	11.4% ±0.7	9.2% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Madison city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Wisconsin	United States
All ages	43,635 ±2,508	16.4% ±0.9	10.6% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	6,184 ±947	13.9% ±2.0	12.8% ±0.3	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	33,550 ±1,799	19.2% ±1.0	10.3% ±0.2	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	3,901 ±636	8.2% ±1.3	9.3% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Madison city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Madison city	Wisconsin	United States
Housing units	133,530 ±1,083	2,778,572 ±1,533	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	96.1% ±0.5	89.2% ±0.2	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	3.9% ±0.6	10.8% ±0.2	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	46.0% ±1.0	67.8% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	54.0% ±1.1	32.2% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$372,900 ±$5,542	$266,500 ±$1,051	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,413 ±$20	$1,087 ±$4	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1980 ±2	1975 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Madison city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Hispanic or Latino	26,165 ±1,133	9.4% ±0.4	8.0% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	193,375 ±1,698	69.6% ±0.6	78.6% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	19,962 ±1,421	7.2% ±0.5	5.9% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	22,178 ±1,003	8.0% ±0.4	2.9% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	457 ±168	0.2% ±0.1	0.5% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	4 to 80	< 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	1,374 ±511	0.5% ±0.2	0.3% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	14,448 ±1,256	5.2% ±0.5	3.7% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Madison city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Born in the state	144,503 ±2,875	52.0% ±1.0	70.3% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	97,905 ±2,864	35.2% ±1.0	23.6% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	3,442 ±644	1.2% ±0.2	0.9% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	32,151 ±1,499	11.6% ±0.5	5.2% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	12,890 ±945	4.6% ±0.3	2.5% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	19,261 ±1,157	6.9% ±0.4	2.7% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Madison city among the places of Wisconsin

2nd of 158 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Wisconsin page.

Places of Wisconsin near Madison city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Milwaukee city	566,973 ±84
Madison city	278,001 ±92
Green Bay city	106,253 ±105
Kenosha city	99,372 ±58
Racine city	77,633 ±47
Appleton city	75,023 ±435
Waukesha city	71,233 ±71

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Madison city, Wisconsin

Rankings this appears in

No. 1 Places in Wisconsin by foreign-born share
No. 5 Places in Wisconsin by poverty rate
No. 7 Places in Wisconsin by median rent
No. 20 Places in Wisconsin by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 26 Places in Wisconsin by per capita income
No. 28 Places in Wisconsin by median home value

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026