Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Madison earns an A, 3rd among Alabama's 187 graded towns. Its schools rank ahead of 97% of Alabama towns, the median household earns $135K, and residents are healthier than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. 65% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Madison, where Alabama’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 29%. Madison has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them James H. Bibb House and Madison Station Historic District. Only 5 of the 186 Alabama towns we compare have a higher median household income than Madison.
Where Madison beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| MidTown Elementary School | K–5 | 1,097 |
| Mill Creek Elementary School | PK–5 | 965 |
| Heritage Elementary School | K–5 | 869 |
| Widest gap | Madison | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7% | 15.4% |
James H. Bibb House42,938 counted in 2010 and 56,933 in 2020; an estimated 67,968 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 19.4% since 2020, after 32.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Madison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 410 in 1880, 56,933 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 3 maps from 1936 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Madison. Close and well known come first.
6 mi MuseumU.S. Space & Rocket Center1.0M visitors a year4 mi Theme parkSpace City USA
13 mi MuseumBurritt on the Mountain10 mi Theme parkSouthern Adventures
10 mi MuseumHuntsville Museum of Art
13 mi MuseumNorth Alabama Railroad MuseumU.S. Space & Rocket Center: formulanone from Huntsville, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Burritt on the Mountain: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Huntsville Museum of Art: Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 3.0 · North Alabama Railroad Museum: Jeff Hunter from Madison, AL, USA, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Madison, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Madison.
Madison fares better on crime within Alabama than nationally, has schools in the top 5% of Alabama and has less tooth loss than most of Alabama.
Its A+ ranks #4 of the 187 Alabama towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Madison City school district. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,103 | A |
| James Clemens High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,159 | A |
| Heritage Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 869 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $1,994, against $788 across Alabama, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Madison home is worth about $377,000, up 0.9% in a year, 58% above the Alabama typical home. The median rent in Madison is $1,453 a month.
| Madison | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,453 a month | $940 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Alabama is tooth loss: 7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.4% statewide. Against the 4,077 U.S. towns with household incomes like Madison’s, it is healthier than 69%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
9.7% of Madison adults report frequent physical distress. Among 187 Alabama towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Madison. 14% of Madison adults report frequent mental distress.
| Madison | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 30% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Madison | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.9% | 19.2% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73.9% | 78% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
11 miles of trail in 36 parks and preserves. Rainbow Mountain Nature Preserve, at 159 acres with 3.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Madison | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rainbow Mountain Nature Preserve | 3.8 mi | 159 |
| 2. Heritage Park | 1 mi | 25 |
| 3. Bob Jones Walking Trail | 0.8 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Belle Mina 2 N weather station, 7 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 214 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 82% of Alabama places with climate records. July afternoons average 89.8°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 77% of Alabama places with climate records; January nights average 31.2°.
Madison has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Madison’s July high is 90°F. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Madison | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 31°F | 33°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
19.2% of workers work from home, against 8.8% across Alabama.
Most working residents leave Madison for work: only 13% work in town. 4.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Madison. Since 2013, Madison has added 4,635 jobs, to 20,316 in 2023.
| Madison | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 6.7% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Madison.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 17.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 82% of Alabama’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
7 within 15 miles of the center of Madison
About 7 of every 100 Madison residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
2 places in Madison on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Madison.
City in Alabama, United States
Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest in the state, and is also included in the merged Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The population was 56,933 at the 2020 census. Madison is an enclave of Huntsville, which surrounds it on all sides, though there are some small unincorporated lands within Madison in Madison and Limestone counties and along the border with Huntsville. Madison was mostly a small city for many years, with its population being around 400-500 for much of its hist…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Madison grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #3 of 187 in Alabama. It grades A for health, B− for safety and A+ for schools.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($85,989 across the Huntsville, AL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
7 notable people were born here, including Levi Randolph and Zach Harting.
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