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.
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 (nicknamed "Metro East"), 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 (3.4%) 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
Bond County - east Clinton County - southeast Jersey County - northwest Macoupin County - north Montgomery County - northeast St. Charles County, Missouri - northwest St. Clair County - south St. Louis, Missouri - west St. Louis County, Missouri - west
Parks and Reserves
Chouteau Island Gabaret Island Horseshoe Lake State Park Mosenthein Island Cahokia Mounds State Park
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
I-55 I-70 I-255 I-270 US 40 US 67 IL 3 IL 4 IL 100 IL 111 IL 140 IL 143 IL 157 IL 159 IL 160 IL 162 IL 203 IL 255 IL 267
Demographics
2020 census +Madison County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)229,372228,315231,313233,515213,79392.60%91.61%89.33%86.72%80.42%Black or African American alone (NH)14,16216,07418,82521,06624,6715.72%6.45%7.27%7.82%9.28%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4256566265565590.17%0.26%0.24%0.21%0.21%Asian alone (NH)7401,3641,5152,2112,7180.30%0.55%0.59%0.82%1.02%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census509292xx0.02%0.03%0.03%Other race alone (NH)4971162372068250.20%0.05%0.09%0.08%0.31%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2,4504,32312,404xx0.95%1.61%4.67%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2,4952,7133,9257,31310,7971.01%1.09%1.52%2.72%4.06%Total247,691249,238258,941269,282265,859 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
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
Alton Collinsville (partly in St. Clair County) Edwardsville Granite City Highland Madison Troy Venice Wood River
Villages
Alhambra Bethalto East Alton Fairmont City Glen Carbon Godfrey Grantfork Hamel Hartford Livingston Marine Maryville New Douglas Pontoon Beach Pierron Roxana South Roxana St. Jacob Williamson Worden
Census Designated Places Holiday Shores Mitchell Moro Prairietown Rosewood Heights
Other unincorporated and historic communities
Binney Cottage Hills Donkville Dorsey Fosterburg Goshen Settlement Kaufman Kuhn Station LeClaire Lincoln Place Lumaghi Heights Meadowbrook Midway Newport Poag St. Morgan State Park Place Upper Alton Wanda
Townships Madison County is divided into twenty-four townships:
Alhambra Alton Chouteau Collinsville Edwardsville Fort Russell Foster Godfrey Granite City Hamel Helvetia Jarvis Leef Marine Moro Nameoki New Douglas Olive Omphghent Pin Oak Saline St. Jacob Venice Wood River
Islands Chouteau Island Gabaret Island Mosenthein Island
Historic Settlements Camp Dubois
Population ranking The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Madison County.
† county seat
RankPlaceMunicipal typePopulation (2020 Census) 1Granite City City 27,549 2† Edwardsville City 26,808 3Alton City 25,676 4Collinsville (partially in St. Clair County) City 24,366 5Godfrey Village 17,825 6Glen Carbon Village 13,842 7Troy City 10,960 8Wood River Village 10,464 9Highland City 9,991 10Bethalto Village 9,310 11Maryville Village 8,221 12Pontoon Beach Village 5,876 13East Alton Village 5,786 14Rosewood Heights CDP 3,971 15Madison (partially in St. Clair County) City 3,171 16Holiday Shores CDP 2,840 17Fairmont City (partially in St. Clair County) City 2,265 18South Roxana Village 1,891 19Venice City 1,498 20Roxana Village 1,454 21St. Jacob Village 1,358 22Mitchell CDP 1,217 23Hartford Village 1,185 24Worden Village 1,096 25Hamel Village 929 26Marine Village 912 27Livingston Village 763 28Alhambra Village 622 29Pierron Village 459 30Moro CDP 397 31New Douglas Village 350 32Grantfork Village 341 33Williamson Village 183
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 Republicans. 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: - Text list
Alton Community Unit School District 11 Bethalto Consolidated Unit School District 8 Bunker Hill Community Unit School District 8 Collinsville Community Unit School District 10 Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 Granite City Community Unit School District 9 Highland Community Unit School District 5 Madison Community Unit School District 12 Roxana Community Unit School District 1 Triad Community Unit School District 2 Staunton Community Unit School District 6 Venice Community Unit School District 3
Secondary school districts include:
Central Community High School District 71 East Alton-Wood River Community High School District 14
Elementary school districts include:
Aviston School District 21 East Alton School District 13 St. Rose School District 14-15 Wood River-Hartford Elementary School District 15
Colleges and universities include: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Madison County, Illinois The Invincible Thieves
References
External links Madison County website A History of Madison County Illinois Madison Historical: The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Illinois