Madison, Wisconsin: Bellwether market. In 2024, voted D+28%. Republican peak: R+66 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+28MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,050,5412024 5-year
- Median household income
- $83,7142024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+36 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+66 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Madison, WIOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 400,376 | 221,883 | 632,931 | ||
| D | 386,601 | 204,732 | 601,509 | ||
| D | 324,834 | 177,411 | 537,468 | ||
| D | 353,867 | 178,714 | 539,987 | ||
| D | 345,732 | 158,895 | 512,036 | ||
| D | 305,641 | 198,786 | 509,418 | ||
| D | 248,653 | 163,843 | 435,124 | ||
| D | 196,004 | 120,240 | 364,158 | ||
| D | 196,513 | 129,836 | 408,156 | ||
| D | 184,649 | 154,565 | 341,742 | ||
| R | 163,466 | 174,762 | 340,611 | ||
| D | 158,491 | 151,834 | 350,969 | ||
| D | 163,054 | 150,185 | 324,057 | ||
| R | 138,119 | 147,945 | 289,948 | ||
| R | 114,398 | 118,110 | 246,705 | ||
| D | 150,529 | 87,880 | 238,785 | ||
| R | 105,306 | 136,163 | 241,858 | ||
| R | 82,571 | 130,388 | 213,935 | ||
| R | 82,117 | 140,221 | 222,782 | ||
| D | 88,169 | 82,945 | 175,098 | ||
| R | 89,984 | 96,601 | 187,662 | ||
| R | 99,437 | 100,381 | 201,618 | ||
| D | 106,649 | 68,765 | 182,961 | ||
| D | 91,414 | 68,115 | 163,312 | ||
| R | 60,261 | 98,126 | 159,555 | ||
| O | 10,779 | 56,047 | 140,740 | ||
| R | 16,754 | 90,660 | 112,416 | ||
| R | 32,075 | 38,791 | 73,548 | ||
| D | 29,924 | 26,497 | 68,197 | ||
| R | 29,886 | 45,103 | 78,675 | ||
| R | 23,103 | 51,083 | 77,992 | ||
| R | 26,744 | 48,531 | 78,153 | ||
| R | 30,081 | 48,216 | 81,173 | ||
| R | 32,365 | 35,290 | 72,936 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
34.2%
Irish
12.9%
English
10.0%
Polish
4.5%
American
3.3%
Italian
3.2%
French
2.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 38.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$83,714
Madison ranks near the middle of US counties.
Madison$83,714
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.2%
Working age (18–64)10.3%
Seniors (65+)8.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.8%
speak English only
Spanish4.5%
Other Indo-European2.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.0%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Madison media market is shaped by a dense concentration of students, state-government workers, and university faculty, producing turnout patterns and margins that consistently outpace Democratic baselines seen elsewhere in Wisconsin.
The Democratic margin in Madison has rarely exceeded thirty-six points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded sixty-six points. 2024 delivered the market to the Democratic candidate by twenty-eight points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most markets. A 82% non-Hispanic-white share, a 10% poverty rate, and a median household income of $83,714 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Madison, Wisconsin — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/669/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Madison, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Madison, Wisconsin voted Democratic by 28.2 points (D+28), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 632,931 votes cast, 400,376 went Democratic and 221,883 went Republican.
What is Madison, Wisconsin's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Madison, Wisconsin as a "Bellwether" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 17 times, Republican 16 times, and other 1 times.
When did Madison, Wisconsin last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Madison, Wisconsin voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Madison, Wisconsin?
Madison, Wisconsin has a population of 1,050,541 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Madison, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Madison, Wisconsin is $83,714 — above the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Madison, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Madison, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.