County Maps US

Dane County, Wisconsin

A county in Wisconsin, ranked 2 of 72 by population.

CountyFIPS 55025

Within Wisconsin
Dane County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Madison, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
590,375
+27,760 (+4.9%) since 2020
Land area
1,196
square miles. A further 3.3% of the total area is water
Population density
493
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Madison
Seat of county government.
Established
1836
189 years ago
Largest city
Madison city
Population 286,233.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Dane County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Dane County, Wisconsin from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 615 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Dane County ranks

Position among the 72 counties of Wisconsin, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn WisconsinNationally
Population590,3752nd of 72120th of 3,144
Land area1,196 sq mi8th of 72512th of 3,144
Population density493 per sq mi6th of 72284th of 3,144
Median household income$89,9756th of 72299th of 3,143

Full data for Dane County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population590,375Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 2020562,615Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?561,507Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area1,196 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area41.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,238 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?493 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$89,975American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$394,800American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age35.7American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households251,529American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units261,061American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+1,590
5,536 births, 3,946 deaths
Net migration
+2,406
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 7 areas bordering Dane County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Columbia CountyWisconsin37 mi58,132
Green CountyWisconsin25 mi37,227
Jefferson CountyWisconsin24 mi86,505
Iowa CountyWisconsin24 mi23,951
Rock CountyWisconsin18 mi166,472
Sauk CountyWisconsin10 mi66,652
Dodge CountyWisconsin6.0 mi89,097

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 72 counties of Wisconsin

Open the interactive Wisconsin county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.