• county
  • FIPS 19121
  • Largest town: Winterset

Madison County, Iowa

Madison County had 17,161 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 561.0 square miles of land. It ranks 41st of 99 in Iowa by population and 60th by land area.

Population
17,161
#41 of 99 in Iowa · #1,966 in US
Area
561.0 sq mi
#60 of 99 in Iowa · #1,846 in US
Density
31 / sq mi
#38 of 99 in Iowa · #1,908 in US
Median household income
$84,509
#5 of 99 in Iowa · #340 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Madison County within Iowa. Pin: Des Moines.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Madison County

Madison County population, land area and income

Madison County had 17,161 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 561.0 square miles of land. It ranks 41st of 99 in Iowa by population and 60th by land area. That works out to 30.6 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Iowa has 15,008 residents; Madison County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $84,509 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

17,161

3144th1st

1966th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

561 sq mi

3144th1st

1846th of 3,144 (US)

Density

30.6 / sq mi

3144th1st

1908th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$84,509

3143rd1st

340th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Iowa (99)

Population

17,161

99th1st

41st of 99 (IA)

Land area

561 sq mi

99th1st

60th of 99 (IA)

Density

30.6 / sq mi

99th1st

38th of 99 (IA)

Median household income

$84,509

99th1st

5th of 99 (IA)

How Madison County's population changed since 2020

Madison County gained 533 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 3.2%. That ranks 7th of 99 in Iowa for growth. The median Iowa county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by +1.6%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Madison County recorded 826 births and 682 deaths, a natural change of +144. Net international migration added +5 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +461. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 461 people.

16.6k202016.8k202117.1k202217.0k202317.2k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
826
Deaths
682
Net international migration
+5
Net domestic migration
+461
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+162

Where Madison County is

The Census internal point of Madison County is at 41.330600, -94.015200. It sits in UTM zone 15N. The map shades Iowa's 99 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Madison County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Monroe County: -2.9%Worth County: -1.7%Buena Vista County: +0.0%Jasper County: +0.8%Van Buren County: -0.0%Hardin County: -2.2%Ida County: -3.1%Marshall County: +0.8%Fayette County: -1.5%Ringgold County: -0.8%Wapello County: +1.0%Webster County: -0.2%Adams County: -2.8%Buchanan County: +0.6%Cerro Gordo County: -1.2%Lucas County: +1.6%Emmet County: -1.9%Floyd County: -3.8%Crawford County: -0.7%Linn County: +0.6%Montgomery County: -2.6%Polk County: +4.7%Cherokee County: +0.0%Bremer County: +1.3%Grundy County: +0.5%Adair County: -0.8%Cedar County: -1.4%Story County: +3.9%Mahaska County: -0.6%Davis County: +0.9%Clay County: +0.8%Johnson County: +4.6%Greene County: -1.0%Palo Alto County: -2.0%Benton County: +1.0%Cass County: -0.7%Wright County: -1.5%Audubon County: -2.1%Henry County: -5.3%Boone County: +0.1%Appanoose County: -1.4%Washington County: +0.4%Chickasaw County: -2.2%Poweshiek County: -0.9%Osceola County: -2.6%Wayne County: +1.8%Mitchell County: +0.4%Jefferson County: +0.5%Union County: -1.4%Butler County: -1.2%Hancock County: -1.3%Marion County: +1.9%Delaware County: +0.9%Humboldt County: +0.2%Sioux County: +1.8%Des Moines County: -1.1%O'Brien County: +0.8%Clayton County: -0.6%Black Hawk County: +1.0%Winnebago County: -2.6%Harrison County: +0.4%Decatur County: -1.0%Pocahontas County: -0.9%Lyon County: +3.8%Iowa County: -1.4%Franklin County: +0.3%Dickinson County: +2.2%Madison County: +3.2%Allamakee County: +0.8%Jones County: +2.2%Carroll County: -1.6%Kossuth County: -2.6%Hamilton County: -1.0%Howard County: -1.4%Page County: -1.1%Guthrie County: +1.5%Tama County: -1.8%Monona County: -3.6%Clarke County: -2.1%Lee County: -3.4%Mills County: +2.1%Sac County: -2.7%Scott County: +0.6%Keokuk County: -1.6%Jackson County: -0.3%Warren County: +7.1%Calhoun County: -1.9%Shelby County: +0.8%Fremont County: -1.1%Dubuque County: -0.1%Louisa County: -1.8%Taylor County: -0.6%Woodbury County: +1.2%Clinton County: -0.9%Winneshiek County: -1.6%Pottawattamie County: -0.1%Plymouth County: +0.5%Muscatine County: -2.4%Dallas County: +14.7%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -1.9%
  2. < -1.0%
  3. < +0.0%
  4. < +0.9%
  5. ≥ +0.9%
no data

Orange pin: Madison County internal point. Dark pin: Des Moines.

Internal point

Decimal
41.330600, -94.015200
DMS
41°19'50.16"N 94°00'54.72"W
UTM
15N 415047.6E 4575954.9N
Geohash
9zm5hsh0p
Plus code
86H78XJM+6W

Towns in Madison County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Madison County, 6,833 people together, or 40% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Madison County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Winterset with 5,421.

  1. 01Winterset5,421
  2. 02Earlham1,411
  3. 03West Des Moines (part)1
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Madison County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Madison County. The most populous is Polk County, IA, with 516,185 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Des Moines and the nearest big city

Des Moines is 27.9 miles NE of Madison County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Des Moines, IA (population 213,096), 26.8 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Waukee, IA (population 34,420), 19.2 miles away.

Madison County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Madison County is 19121: state code 19 for Iowa plus county code 121. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $84,509.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Madison County, Iowa?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 17,161. That is up 533 people (3.2%) from the July 2020 estimate of 16,628.

What is the FIPS code of Madison County?

19121. The first two digits (19) are Iowa; the last three (121) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Madison County?

Winterset, with 5,421 residents inside Madison County in 2024.

Which counties border Madison County?

7 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Polk County, IA; Dallas County, IA; Warren County, IA; Union County, IA; Guthrie County, IA; Clarke County, IA; Adair County, IA.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.