Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Madison grades C− overall, 595th among New York's 745 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, its schools rank behind 94% of the state's. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 70% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $220K, 2.9 years of the Syracuse metro’s $75K median household income. On the outdoors, just 37 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. Madison's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Chenango Canal Summit Level and Coolidge Stores Building.
Where Madison beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Madison’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Madison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,420 in 1820, 2,766 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1875 and 2 maps from 1902 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Madison.
Its public schools are run by the Madison Central School District. Its one school is below. The largest public high school is Madison Central School, with 413 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 413 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The typical Madison home is worth about $220,000, up 3.9% in a year, 58% below the New York typical home. 82% of Madison households own their home, above both the New York town median (75%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The median rent in Madison is $986 a month.
| Madison | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $986 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,192 working residents takes 21.8 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Madison for work: only 6% work in town. Madison’s average trip to work is 22 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. 13% of Madison residents live below the poverty line.
| Madison | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.4% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
18% of adults binge drink in Madison. Madison beats the New York average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 9.6% of adults have diabetes in Madison.
| Madison | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Madison | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.3% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.3% | 17.2% |
| More adults with depression | 21.8% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Madison has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Madison’s July high is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Madison | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Gateway Reserve | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Madison.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Madison. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year
34 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
22 mi National MonumentFort Stanwix National Monument78K visitors a year
38 mi LakeOnondaga Lake28 mi LandmarkFort Dayton
20 mi Stadium & arenaUtica Memorial AuditoriumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · JMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Stanwix National Monument: NPS photo, Public domain · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Utica Memorial Auditorium: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Madison
About 4 of every 100 Madison residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
2 places in Madison on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Madison.
Town in New York, United States
Madison is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 2,766 at the 2020 census. The village of Madison is the largest community within the town. Madison, along with the rest of Madison County, is part of the Syracuse Metropolitan Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Madison.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Hamilton (C+) is closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | #595 | C− | C+ | — | D | B+ |
| Hamilton | – | C+ | C− | — | B− | B+ |
| Sangerfield | — | — | A− | — | B− | B+ |
| Eaton | #228 | B+ | A | — | B− | B+ |
| Brookfield | — | — | A− | — | D | C |
| Augusta | — | — | B+ | — | C | B− |
| Hamilton | – | A | C− | A+ | A− | A |
Sangerfield, Brookfield and Augusta have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Madison, Hamilton, Sangerfield, Eaton, Brookfield and Augusta report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Madison with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Madison grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #595 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
10 notable people were born here, including Edward Maynard and Elmer D. Morse.
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