Madison, Wisconsin demographics

Madison, WI demographics: median age 31.8; 59.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Madison city, Wisconsin · Incorporated city · GEOID 5548000. The survey estimates a population of 278,001 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Madison is 31.8 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.4 years. There are 128,261 households (±1,261). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	31.8 ±0.4	40.2 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 278,001
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Under 18	44,715 ±1,492	16.1% ±0.5 pp	21.4%	22.0%
18–34	108,907 ±2,540	39.2% ±0.9 pp	21.9%	22.8%
35–64	88,139 ±2,023	31.7% ±0.7 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	36,240 ±1,355	13.0% ±0.5 pp	18.5%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 278,001
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Male	139,065 ±1,200	50.0% ±0.4 pp	50.1%	49.5%
Female	138,936 ±1,196	50.0% ±0.4 pp	49.9%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 278,001
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
White alone	198,360 ±1,764	71.4% ±0.6 pp	80.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	20,112 ±1,427	7.2% ±0.5 pp	6.1%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	967 ±339	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.8%	0.9%
Asian alone	22,292 ±1,003	8.0% ±0.4 pp	3.0%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	42 ±38 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	6,929 ±1,174	2.5% ±0.4 pp	2.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	29,299 ±1,791	10.5% ±0.6 pp	7.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 278,001
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	251,836 ±1,143	90.6% ±0.4 pp	92.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	26,165 ±1,133	9.4% ±0.4 pp	8.0%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 128,261
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Married-couple family	42,347 ±1,244	33.0% ±0.9 pp	46.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	3,848 ±589	3.0% ±0.5 pp	4.5%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	8,887 ±810	6.9% ±0.6 pp	9.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	51,110 ±1,855	39.8% ±1.4 pp	31.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	22,069 ±1,027	17.2% ±0.8 pp	8.0%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 128,261
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Households with people under 18	25,084 ±869	19.6% ±0.6 pp	26.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	103,177 ±1,736	80.4% ±1.1 pp	73.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 128,261
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	51,110 ±1,855	39.8% ±1.4 pp	31.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	44,336 ±1,697	34.6% ±1.3 pp	37.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	15,562 ±1,038	12.1% ±0.8 pp	13.1%	15.3%
Four-person households	11,382 ±826	8.9% ±0.6 pp	10.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	4,007 ±568	3.1% ±0.4 pp	4.8%	5.9%
Six-person households	935 ±261	0.7% ±0.2 pp	1.7%	2.2%
Seven or more people	929 ±280	0.7% ±0.2 pp	1.0%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 278,001
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Native	245,850 ±1,498	88.4% ±0.5 pp	94.8%	85.9%
Foreign born	32,151 ±1,499	11.6% ±0.5 pp	5.2%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 264,840
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
English only	225,871 ±1,800	85.3% ±0.6 pp	91.0%	77.7%
Spanish	16,068 ±1,217	6.1% ±0.5 pp	4.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	859 ±339	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	1,091 ±299	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.7%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	1,632 ±385	0.6% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	5,044 ±568	1.9% ±0.2 pp	0.7%	2.0%
Korean	873 ±367	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	5,740 ±855	2.2% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	1.1%
Vietnamese	284 ±136	0.1% ±0.1 pp	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	474 ±195	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	4,308 ±625	1.6% ±0.2 pp	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	800 ±323	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	1,796 ±478	0.7% ±0.2 pp	0.3%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 175,688
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	7,299 ±899	4.2% ±0.5 pp	6.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	25,690 ±1,482	14.6% ±0.8 pp	29.4%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	24,240 ±1,311	13.8% ±0.7 pp	19.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	13,286 ±1,077	7.6% ±0.6 pp	11.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	60,017 ±1,602	34.2% ±0.9 pp	22.0%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	45,156 ±1,731	25.7% ±1.0 pp	11.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 275,848
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Wisconsin	U.S.
Same house	205,475 ±2,862	74.5% ±1.0 pp	88.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	39,406 ±2,270	14.3% ±0.8 pp	6.2%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	10,440 ±931	3.8% ±0.3 pp	3.3%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	16,583 ±1,396	6.0% ±0.5 pp	2.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	3,944 ±855	1.4% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.2% of Madison residents (±0.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.2% in Wisconsin and 8.4% nationally. 91.3% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Madison	Wisconsin	U.S.	Compared with Wisconsin
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.2% ±0.4 pp	5.2%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	91.3% ±0.9 pp	90.3%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.4% ±0.3 pp	6.2%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Madison . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Madison housing and cost context or return to the city profile.