263,017 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.0% since 2020)
716 square miles of land · 368 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
41 active community water systems list Madison County in the area they serve, reporting 272,330 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| IL AMERICAN-ALTON surface water · private · IL1195150 | 46,127 served |
| IL AMERICAN-GRANITE CITY surface water · private · IL1195030 | 33,572 served |
| COLLINSVILLE groundwater · local government · IL1194280 | 30,616 served |
| EDWARDSVILLE groundwater · local government · IL1190250 | 26,808 served |
| TROY groundwater · local government · IL1191000 | 16,962 served |
| BETHALTO groundwater · local government · IL1190150 | 15,210 served |
| GLEN CARBON buys surface water · local government · IL1190300 | 12,618 served |
| HIGHLAND surface water · local government · IL1190550 | 10,674 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 244 people were held in Madison County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 145 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 313.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
13 school districts have their office in Madison County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $120.1 million — $105 million to run schools, about $14,436 per student, plus $6.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $84 million local (mostly property tax), $39 million state, $7.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $63.6 million.
Spent $90.8 million — $75.2 million to run schools, about $12,244 per student, plus $12.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $41.2 million local (mostly property tax), $39.2 million state, $16.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $13.7 million.
Spent $95.9 million — $86.5 million to run schools, about $14,865 per student, plus $7.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $29.9 million local (mostly property tax), $66.5 million state, $26 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.4 million.
Spent $108.2 million — $96.8 million to run schools, about $16,826 per student, plus $5.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $41.2 million local (mostly property tax), $68.7 million state, $21.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $56.4 million.
Spent $56.9 million — $51.9 million to run schools, about $12,992 per student, plus $3.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $33.8 million local (mostly property tax), $27.1 million state, $3 million federal. Long-term debt: $42 million.
Spent $42.8 million — $36.8 million to run schools, about $13,179 per student, plus $4.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $25.2 million local (mostly property tax), $19.9 million state, $2.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $13.6 million.
Spent $47.7 million — $33.9 million to run schools, about $14,601 per student, plus $12 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $13.8 million local (mostly property tax), $23.1 million state, $4.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $30.5 million.
Spent $36.8 million — $33.3 million to run schools, about $19,701 per student, plus $2.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $23.5 million local (mostly property tax), $15 million state, $5 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.3 million.
And 5 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Madison County about $154.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
524 bridges in Madison County: 247 in good condition, 231 fair, and 46 poor (8.8%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| FAI 270 EB over COUNTY DITCH · built 1963 | 24,900 vehicles a day |
| FAI 270 WB over COUNTY DITCH · built 1963 | 24,900 vehicles a day |
| I-255 SB over 162 Abandon UPRR 2 trail · built 1987 | 20,250 vehicles a day |
| FAI 255 NB over HORSESHOE LAKE ROAD · built 1987 | 20,150 vehicles a day |
| FAI 255 SB over HORSESHOE LAKE ROAD · built 1987 | 20,150 vehicles a day |
| I-255 NB over 162 Abandon UPRR 2 trail · built 1987 | 20,150 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $142.2 million of work in Madison County in fiscal 2025, about $535 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Illinois are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Madison County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Madison County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: St. Louis city, MO (23 mi) · St. Clair County (25 mi) · Bond County (25 mi) · Clinton County (30 mi) · Macoupin County (30 mi) · Jersey County (30 mi).