Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,065, settled in 1874. 28% more library visits per person than the typical South Dakota town.
Trash day: look up yoursMadison gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $263K, 3.4 years of the county’s $77K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 12th of 35 graded towns in South Dakota. On the plus side, it is healthier than 78% of U.S. towns. 48% of working residents work locally in Madison, against 29% in South Dakota’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Madison is home to Dakota State University. Madison's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Madison beats most towns.
Census counts: 96 in 1880, 6,191 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 2 maps from 1968 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Madison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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.
Madison fares better on crime within South Dakota than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Against the 10,036 U.S. towns with household incomes like Madison’s, it is healthier than 96%, so its A− isn’t only a matter of income.
20% of Madison adults binge drink. Madison tracks South Dakota closely on all 26 CDC measures. 75% of Madison adults had a checkup this year.
| Madison | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 76% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 36% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Madison Central School District 39-2. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Madison High School - 01, with 384 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Elementary - 07Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 515 | B |
| Madison High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 384 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
2.8 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Baughman Park, at 31 acres.
| Madison | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 3.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Baughman Park | — | 31 |
| 2. Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 4 |
| 3. Totland Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Madison has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 35 South Dakota towns, just 3 have a lower July high than Madison.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 77% of South Dakota’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 6 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Madison is 1 per 1,000 residents.
| Madison | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.9 per 1,000 residents | 10.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Home values rose 39% in five years, to about $263K, against 23% across South Dakota.
60% of households own their home in Madison. The typical Madison home is worth about $263,000, up 1% in a year, 17% below the South Dakota typical home.
| Madison | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $981 a month | $958 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 3,148 working residents takes 11.4 minutes, against 17.8 across South Dakota.
Madison’s average trip to work is 11 minutes. Jobs based in Madison grew to 3,740 in 2023, 206 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (13%), Brookings (7%) and Lake View Township (5%).
| Madison | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 11 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $72,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.2% | 6.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Children under 18 are 19% of residents (24% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Madison has lost 2.1% of its people since 2020, down to 6,065 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across South Dakota.
| Madison | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women.
| Madison | SD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.3% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 15.2% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.5% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.6% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.1% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.2% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.2% | 29% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.4% | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.5% | 21.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.9% | 10% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
146 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 18 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 146 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Madison.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Madison
About 12 of every 100 Madison residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across South Dakota.
8 places in Madison on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Madison.
City in South Dakota, United States
Madison is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,191 at the 2020 census. It is home to Dakota State University.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Madison.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | #12 | B+ | B | B | B− | A− |
| Lake View Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Herman Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Le Roy Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lake View Township, Herman Township and Le Roy Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Madison with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Madison grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #12 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades A− for health, B for safety and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
11 notable people were born here, including Charles Jacobs and Charles McCallister.
