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.

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.

File:Madison County Illinois 1812.png|Madison County between its creation in 1812 and 1815, extending north to Lake Michigan and the border with Rupert's Land

File:Madison County Illinois 1815.png|Madison County between 1815 and 1817

File:Madison County Illinois 1817.png|Madison County between 1817 and 1821

File:Madison County Illinois 1821.png|Madison County between 1821 and 1825

File:Madison County Illinois 1825.png|Between 1825 and 1829, Madison included a northern salient that was split off to form part of Macoupin County.

File:Madison County Illinois 1829.png|In 1829, Madison returned to its 1821 borders.

File:Madison County Illinois 1843.png|In 1843, a small amount of land was transferred to Bond County, reducing Madison to its current size.

</gallery>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.4%) is water.

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.

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2019

2020 census

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Madison County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|229,372

|228,315

|231,313

|233,515

|style='background: #ffffe6; |213,793

|92.60%

|91.61%

|89.33%

|86.72%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |80.42%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|14,162

|16,074

|18,825

|21,066

|style='background: #ffffe6; |24,671

|5.72%

|6.45%

|7.27%

|7.82%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.28%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|425

|656

|626

|556

|style='background: #ffffe6; |559

|0.17%

|0.26%

|0.24%

|0.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%

|Asian alone (NH)

|740

|1,364

|1,515

|2,211

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,718

|0.30%

|0.55%

|0.59%

|0.82%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.02%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|50

|92

|style='background: #ffffe6; |92

|0.02%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|Other race alone (NH)

|497

|116

|237

|206

|style='background: #ffffe6; |825

|0.20%

|0.05%

|0.09%

|0.08%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|2,450

|4,323

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,404

|0.95%

|1.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.67%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|2,495

|2,713

|3,925

|7,313

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,797

|1.01%

|1.09%

|1.52%

|2.72%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.06%

|Total

|247,691

|249,238

|258,941

|269,282

|style='background: #ffffe6; |265,859

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |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.

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. 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.

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.

Communities

right|350px|thumb|Map of Madison County, Illinois

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
Gard
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

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Rank

!Place

!Municipal type

!Population (2020 Census)