Madison ranks #12 in Wisconsin for a top hospital nearby
Madison is ranked on 40 lists against the 371 Wisconsin towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 12.
Younger than 98% of Wisconsin
Not better or worse, just Madison’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Madison does best on
Each list ranks every WI town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Madison marked.
1 spot from the top 25 for trails
Lists where Madison sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Madison lands in the top half on 13 of 26 lists
Each dot is Madison’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in WI, the right end is last. Areas where Madison does best come first.
Madison out-ranks 4 of its 9 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Madison lands in every WI ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Health
Healthiest#1 Whitefish Bay · 98 / 100
#50
Lowest obesity#1 Mequon · 28%
#31
Fewest smokers#1 Whitefish Bay · 7%
#18
Most active#1 Whitefish Bay · 14%
#57
Fewest uninsured#1 Whitefish Bay · 4%
#217
Lowest depression#1 Brookfield · 19%
#289
Closest to a top hospital#1 Waukesha · 0.2 mi
#12 People
Most educated#1 Whitefish Bay · 81.9%
#18
Youngest#1 Whitewater · 22.1
#10
R
Oldest#1 Rome · 64.5
#362
R
Most residents 65+#1 Rome · 48.1%
#341
Most kids#1 Arcadia · 37.7%
#335 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Stephenson · 55.7%
#210
Most new homes#1 DeForest · 26.3 per 1,000
#26
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Algoma · +89.8%
#227
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Whitefish Bay · 31.3 per home
#60 
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Brockway · 65.5%
#56
Most trails#1 Williams Bay · 3.5 mi / sq mi
#26
Most walkable#1 Whitefish Bay · 158 / sq mi
#61 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Hayward · 12.3 min
#97 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Monona · 11.6 per resident
#16
Most library borrowing#1 Whitefish Bay · 24.8 per resident
#16
Best libraries for kids#1 Monona · 45.8 per child
#20 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Antigo · 1.4 yrs
#283
Cheapest rent#1 Bass Lake · $404/mo
#291
Lowest property tax#1 Stanley · $1,492/yr
#356
Rent easiest to afford#1 New Richmond · 20.8%
#86 
Safety
Safest#1 Geneva · 2.6
#144 
The number on the right is Madison’s spot. All of Wisconsin’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every WI list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.