Welcome to Madison ...
The city of Madison is primarily located in Madison County<1>. A portion of Madison extends into Limestone County.
The location of Madison has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Madison, you might consider that their post office opened in 1856.
When the people of Madison refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Madisonian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Madison has a population of 51,658 people<4> (see below for details).
Madison is 710 feet [216 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Madison lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Madison: (256) and (938)<6>
The ZIP codes for Madison: 35756-35758<7>
Websites for Madison ...
Official Website: www.ci.madison.al.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Madison had an population of 51,658 people. This is an increase of 20.31% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 76.13% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Madison had a population of 42,938 people (or 12.82% of the total population of Madison County). This makes Madison the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Madison represents 0.9% of the total population of Alabama (which has 4,779,736 people), making it the state's 10th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 42,938 people, the population of Madison increased 46.4% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 29,329 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Madison.
Communities Also Named Madison ...
While we believe that this Madison is located in Madison County, we know of another 2 Alabama communities named Madison. Those communities are located in the following counties: Jefferson and Montgomery County.
Beyond Alabama, there are 41 communities that are also named Madison - they are located in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Maine, Maryland, Michigan (3), Minnesota (2), Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (3), Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan, South Carolina (2), South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia (2), West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Madison.
Communities near Madison ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Madison.
- Huntsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Huntsville is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202,964 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntsville <8>
- Decatur
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <8>
- Athens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Athens is located in Limestone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,643 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Athens <8>
- Priceville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priceville
- Priceville is located in Morgan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,984 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Priceville <8>
- Owens' Cross Roads
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owens' Cross Roads have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owens' Cross Roads
- Owens' Cross Roads is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,233 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owens' Cross Roads <8>
- Ardmore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ardmore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardmore
- Ardmore is located in Limestone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,513 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ardmore <8>
- Triana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Flint City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flint City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Somerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Elkmont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont
- Elkmont is located in Limestone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkmont <8>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Madison. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Madison.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Madison. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Madison.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Madison. See our Newspapers Page for Madison.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Madison ...
Looking for more information about Madison? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Madison, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Madison.
Adding Madison to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Madison in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Madison was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Madison post office opened in 1856.
We also found Madison on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Alabama (1911).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Madison.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Madison: www.ci.madison.al.us/
The official website for Madison County: www.co.madison.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Madison, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Madison refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Madison may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Madison. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Madison - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | Area code (938) is an overlay for area code (256). |
| <7> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Madison). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Madison or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Madison includes: 35756, 35757 & 35758. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |