Madison County is a county 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,^[1] 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.^[2]

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Madison County
County
Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°50′N 89°55′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	September 14, 1812
Named for	James Madison
Seat	Edwardsville
Largest city	Granite City
Area
• Total	741 sq mi (1,920 km2)
• Land	716 sq mi (1,850 km2)
• Water	25 sq mi (60 km2)  3.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	264,776
• Density	360/sq mi (140/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	13th, 15th
Website	www.madisoncountyil.gov

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Madison County is part of the Metro-East region of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. 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.

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.^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]}

• Madison County between its creation in 1812 and 1815, extending north to Lake Superior and the border with Rupert's Land
• Madison County between 1815 and 1817
• Madison County between 1817 and 1821
• Madison County between 1821 and 1825
• Between 1825 and 1829, Madison included a northern salient that was split off to form part of Macoupin County.
• In 1829, Madison returned to its 1821 borders.
• In 1843, a small amount of land was transferred to Bond County, reducing Madison to its current size.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 741 square miles (1,920 km²), of which 716 square miles (1,850 km²) is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) (3.4%) is water.^[4] Madison County is on the Mississippi River, while the other major body of water is Horseshoe Lake.

Madison County Transit serves the county with 25 bus routes and 85 miles (137 km) of bike trails. Intercity rail service is provided by Amtrak at Alton station. Trains on the Lincoln Service route travel between Chicago and St. Louis.

According to the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the county was 81.4% white (80.4% white non-Hispanic), 9.4% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 6.3% two or more races, and 1.5% some other race. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.1% of the population.^[12]

According to the 2010 census, there were 269,282 people, 108,094 households, and 71,756 families residing in the county.^[13] The population density was 376.3 inhabitants per square mile (145.3/km²). There were 117,106 housing units at an average density of 163.7 per square mile (63.2/km²).^[4] 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.^[13] In terms of ancestry, 32.7% were German, 14.9% were Irish, 10.5% were English, 7.5% were American, and 5.7% were Italian.^[14]

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.^[13]

The median income for a household in the county was $51,941 and the median income for a family was $64,630. Males had a median income of $50,355 versus $35,543 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,127. About 9.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.^[15]

Like much of southern Illinois, Madison County was a predominantly Democratic area for much of its history, but in recent elections has been moving toward Republican. Mitt Romney narrowly carried the county in the 2012 presidential election, becoming the first Republican presidential nominee to do so since 1984. In 2016, Donald Trump carried the largest share of the vote for any Republican presidential candidate since 1972. The county also supported the Republican candidates for governor in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.

• Alton Community Unit School District 11
• Bethalto Community Unit School District 8
• Collinsville Community Unit School District 10
• East Alton School District 13
• East Alton-Wood River Community High School District 14
• Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7
• Granite City Community Unit School District 9
• Highland Community Unit School District 5
• Madison Community Unit School District 12
• Roxana Community Unit School District 1
• Triad Community Unit School District 2
• Venice Community Unit School District 3
• Wood River-Hartford Elementary School District 15^[17]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Madison County, Illinois
• The Invincible Thieves