Health · Madison

Madison, WI health

Madison differs from Wisconsin on 18 of 40 measures. It has fewer adults with heart disease (4.2% vs 6.6%) and fewer adults with arthritis (17% vs 26.6%). Where it trails the state: more adults without reliable transportation (8.3% vs 6.7%).

CDC PLACES 2025 · adults 18+ · CDC's estimate for Madison

Report card

How Madison compares with Wisconsin

Each theme counts how many of its measures are better, worse or too close to call against the state. Tap one to jump to it.

Chronic conditions

Out of every 100 Madison adults…

24 of every 100 Madison adults have high blood pressure

Wisconsin: 33 in 100 · better · margin 21.2–25.9%

Bars show Madison; the black tick is Wisconsin. Tap a condition to see it as people.

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with the state

Madison, betterMadison, worseToo close to callWisconsin

Get no exerciseshare of adults 22% Madison
WI 26.6%

Sleep under 7 hoursshare of adults 29.6% Madison
WI 32.6%

Binge drinkshare of adults 20.8% Madison
WI 19%

Smoke cigarettesshare of adults 10.2% Madison
WI 13.6%

0%10%20%30%40%

Care & screenings

Keeping up with care

Share of Madison adults getting routine care. The full ring is 100%; the dark tick marks Wisconsin.

Yearly checkup

WI 78%

Dentist visit

WI 67%

Cholesterol check

WI 86%

Colon screening

WI 69%

Mammogram

WI 80%

Taking BP meds

WI 78%

1 in 13

working-age adults has no health insurance

Madison 7.9% · Wisconsin 1 in 13 (8%)

Mind & connection

How Madison adults are doing

1 in 3Madison adults feel lonely

32.6% · Wisconsin 30.6% · too close to call

1 in 4Madison adults have been diagnosed with depression

25.4% · Wisconsin 23.2% · too close to call

1 in 5Madison adults lack social or emotional support

19.4% · Wisconsin 20.2% · too close to call

1 in 6Madison adults are in frequent mental distress

16.5% · Wisconsin 15.5% · too close to call

Everyday needs

Making ends meet

Needs that shape health as much as any doctor visit: food, housing, utilities and a way to get around.

1 in 7

Madison adults worry about having enough food

13.5% · WI 12.1% · about the same

1 in 10

Madison adults worry about keeping their housing

10.3% · WI 9.7% · about the same

1 in 17

Madison adults were threatened with a utility shut-off

6% · WI 5.5% · about the same

1 in 12

Madison adults lack reliable transportation

8.3% · WI 6.7% · worse

13.9% of Madison adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 12.5% across Wisconsin.

Disability

Living with a disability

26.1%

of Madison adults live with a disability (Wisconsin 29.4%). Thinking or memory is the most common.

Walking or climbing stairs8.8%

Thinking or memory13.5%

Hearing4.9%

Errands alone7.7%

Vision4.1%

Dressing or bathing2.6%

Black tick: Wisconsin. Shown without a better/worse judgment.

Around Madison

Madison and the towns around it

Pick a measure to shade the map. Darker is worse for health. Pins are the nearest hospitals and community health centers.

30.5%37.1%· darker is worse for health

Obesity

#7 of 29towns on this map, healthiest first

Verona30.5%

Middleton31%

Verona31%

Middleton31.6%

Madison32.7%

Blooming Grove32.8%

Westport32.8%

Monona33.1%

Sun Prairie33.1%

Fitchburg33.4%

McFarland33.5%

Cottage Grove33.8%

Burke33.9%

Care nearby

University of Wi Hospitals & Clinics AuthorityMadison · 0.7 mi · ★★★★★ · ER

Madison VA Medical CenterMadison · 1 mi · ★★★★★ · ER · VA

Unitypoint Health - MeriterMadison · 2.1 mi · ★★★★★ · ER

Ssm Health St. Mary's Hospital - MadisonMadison · 2.4 mi · ★★★★★ · ER

Wingra Family Medical CenterMadison · 2.8 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees

Joyce & Marshall Erdman ClinicMadison · 3.6 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees

✓ Primary careMadison is not a shortage area

✓ Dental careMadison is not a shortage area

✓ Mental healthMadison is not a shortage area

Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas. Hospitals: Medicare overall star ratings, 1–5. Distances are straight-line from the center of Madison. Nearby towns are shaded from CDC's estimates for their ZIP codes, or CDC's own figure for cities and villages.

All 40 measures for Madison

Measure	Madison	Margin	Wisconsin
Chronic conditions
High blood pressure	23.5%	21.2–25.9%	33.3%	better
High cholesterol	26.9%	24.4–29.5%	34.4%	better
Obesity	32.7%	28.8–36.8%	37.7%	better
Arthritis	17%	15.3–18.8%	26.6%	better
Depression	25.4%	22.7–28.3%	23.2%	about the same
Lost all teeth (65+)	7.6%	6.2–9.2%	9.9%	better
Asthma	10.2%	9.1–11.4%	10.8%	about the same
Cancer (not skin)	6%	5.5–6.6%	8.6%	better
Diabetes	7.4%	6.5–8.4%	11.4%	better
COPD	4.2%	3.8–4.7%	6.5%	better
Heart disease	4.2%	3.8–4.6%	6.6%	better
Stroke	2.2%	2–2.4%	3.4%	better
Habits
Smoke cigarettes	10.2%	9–11.6%	13.6%	better
Binge drink	20.8%	18.1–23.7%	19%	about the same
Get no exercise	22%	19.3–24.7%	26.6%	better
Sleep under 7 hours	29.6%	26.2–33%	32.6%	about the same
Care & screenings
Yearly checkup	72%	68.7–75%	77.6%	worse
Dentist visit	66.7%	64–69.3%	67.1%	about the same
Cholesterol check	80.6%	78.6–82.4%	85.9%	worse
Colon screening	71.8%	68.2–75.1%	69.4%	about the same
Mammogram	78.4%	72.7–83.2%	80.3%	about the same
Taking BP meds	69.7%	66.8–72.3%	77.8%	worse
No health insurance	7.9%	6.9–9.1%	8%	about the same
Mind & connection
Feel lonely	32.6%	29.2–36.1%	30.6%	about the same
Lack emotional support	19.4%	17–22%	20.2%	about the same
Frequent mental distress	16.5%	14.8–18.3%	15.5%	about the same
Fair or poor health	14.6%	13–16.3%	17.8%	better
Frequent physical distress	10.5%	9.4–11.7%	12.9%	better
Everyday needs
Food insecurity	13.5%	11.9–15.1%	12.1%	about the same
Housing insecurity	10.3%	9–11.7%	9.7%	about the same
Utility shut-off threat	6%	5.2–6.8%	5.5%	about the same
No reliable transportation	8.3%	7.4–9.3%	6.7%	worse
Receive SNAP	13.9%	12.4–15.4%	12.5%
Disability
Any disability	26.1%	23.4–28.9%	29.4%
Walking or climbing stairs	8.8%	7.8–9.9%	13.4%
Thinking or memory	13.5%	12.2–15%	12.8%
Hearing	4.9%	4.4–5.5%	6.9%
Vision	4.1%	3.8–4.5%	4.5%
Dressing or bathing	2.6%	2.4–2.9%	3.5%
Errands alone	7.7%	7–8.5%	7.9%

About these numbers

How CDC estimates town health

They're modeled estimatesCDC combines a large national health survey with each area's age, sex, race and income mix to estimate local rates. Nobody surveyed Madison door to door.

Close calls stay grayEvery figure has a margin of error. When the Wisconsin figure falls inside it, we don't call Madison better or worse.

CDC's own town estimateCDC publishes Madison directly, so these are its own figures.

CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, 2025 release. The Wisconsin figure combines its counties, weighted by adult population.

Health estimates: CDC PLACES. Hospitals and star ratings: Medicare Care Compare (CMS). Health centers and shortage areas: HRSA. Town boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau.