Madison County, Illinois


Madison County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a part of the Metro East in southern Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 264,776, making it the eighth-most populous county in Illinois and the most populous in the southern portion of the state. The county seat is Edwardsville, and the largest city is Granite City.
Madison County is part of the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis. The pre-Columbian city of Cahokia Mounds, a World Heritage Site, was located near Collinsville. Edwardsville is home to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. To the north, Alton is known for its abolitionist and American Civil War-era history. It is also the home of the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine. Godfrey, the village named for Captain Benjamin Godfrey, offers Lewis and Clark Community College formerly the Monticello Female Seminary.
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History

Madison County was established on September 14, 1812. It was formed from parts of Randolph and St. Clair counties and named for President James Madison. At the time of its formation, Madison County included all of the modern State of Illinois north of St. Louis, as well as all of Wisconsin, part of Minnesota, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
In the late 19th century, Madison County became an industrial region, and in the 20th century was known first for Graniteware, and later for its steel mills, oil refineries, and other heavy industries. The county had a large working population, and the county and surrounding area was a center of strength for the Democratic Party.
Industrial restructuring cost many jobs and reduced the population. The county now is part of the eastern St. Louis metropolitan area, as is neighboring St. Clair County.
In 2009, the EPA issued an air pollution report that ranked Madison County as the county with the second-highest cancer risk in the country due to air pollution, second only to Los Angeles County, California.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Madison County is on the Mississippi River, while the other major body of water is Horseshoe Lake.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Edwardsville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in July 2012. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May. Climate Zone 4A per the International Energy Conservation Code.

Adjacent counties and city

Parks and Reserves

Transportation

Madison County Transit serves the county with 25 bus routes and of bike trails. Intercity rail service is provided by Amtrak at Alton station. Trains on the Lincoln Service route travel between Chicago and St. Louis.

Major highways

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 265,859. The median age was 40.3 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.7 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 81.4% White, 9.4% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.5% from some other race, and 6.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.1% of the population, while non-Hispanic White residents comprised 80.4% of the population.
83.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 16.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 108,607 households in the county, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.1% were married-couple households, 18.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 118,579 housing units, of which 8.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.3% were owner-occupied and 28.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 269,282 people, 108,094 households, and 71,756 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 117,106 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 88.2% white, 7.9% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.9% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.7% were German, 14.9% were Irish, 10.5% were English, 7.5% were American, and 5.7% were Italian.
Of the 108,094 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.6% were non-families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 38.6 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $51,941 and the median income for a family was $64,630. Males had a median income of $50,355 versus $35,543 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,127. About 9.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Villages

Census Designated Places

Other unincorporated and historic communities

Townships

Madison County is divided into twenty-four townships:

Islands

Historic Settlements

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Madison County.
† county seat
RankPlaceMunicipal typePopulation
1Granite CityCity27,549
2† 'EdwardsvilleCity26,808
3AltonCity25,676
4Collinsville City24,366
5GodfreyVillage17,825
6Glen CarbonVillage13,842
7TroyCity10,960
8Wood RiverVillage10,464
9HighlandCity9,991
10BethaltoVillage9,310
11MaryvilleVillage8,221
12Pontoon BeachVillage5,876
13East AltonVillage5,786
14Rosewood HeightsCDP3,971
15Madison City3,171
16Holiday ShoresCDP2,840
17Fairmont City City2,265
18South RoxanaVillage1,891
19VeniceCity1,498
20RoxanaVillage1,454
21St. JacobVillage1,358
22MitchellCDP1,217
23HartfordVillage1,185
24WordenVillage1,096
25HamelVillage929
26MarineVillage912
27LivingstonVillage763
28AlhambraVillage622
29PierronVillage459
30MoroCDP397
31New DouglasVillage350
32GrantforkVillage341
33Williamson'Village183

Politics

Like much of southern Illinois, Madison County was a predominantly Democratic area for much of its history, but in recent elections has been moving toward Republican. Mitt Romney narrowly carried the county in the 2012 presidential election, becoming the first Republican presidential nominee to do so since 1984. In 2016, Donald Trump carried the largest share of the vote for any Republican presidential candidate since 1972. The county also supported the Republican candidates for governor in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.
As of February 2025, the county is one of 7 that voted to join the state of Indiana.

Education

K-12 school districts include:
Secondary school districts include:
Elementary school districts include:
Colleges and universities include: