Official Federal Data
Dane County, Wisconsin
FIPS 55025 · Madison, WI · Population 572,674
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$89,975 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
2.6% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$62.8B ▲
GDP
55.3% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$89,975 ▲
Per Capita
$53,181 ▲
Mean Household
$119,709 ▲
Poverty Rate
10.6% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Dane County$89,975
Wisconsin$77,485
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 19.7%
18-34 · 29.1%
35-54 · 25.1%
55-64 · 11%
65+ · 15.1%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
96.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +6.8 pts
55.3%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +19.6 pts
22.2%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +8.1 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
572,674
Population
332,669
Labor Force
Employed
324,319
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.6% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
20%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 19.6 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 44,371 workers (18.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $78,832.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $62.8B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Information averages $144,959 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $25,238, a 5.7x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Information Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
14,574
Cluster Employment
7.02x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
7.02x 14,574
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
3.19x 3,196
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets
2.27x 115
Chemical Manufacturing
2.17x 4,486
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.89x 1,511
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
1.76x 10,584
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.21x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
845 employed
0.25x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
253 employed
0.27x
Paper Manufacturing
220 employed
0.37x
Wood Product Manufacturing
344 employed
0.41x
Crop Production
497 employed
0.43x
Support Activities for Transportation
820 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Publishing Industries and Telecommunications concentrates at 7.02x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$394,800 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,398 ▲
Rent/Mo
57.1% ▼
Owner-Occ
3.7% ▼
Vacancy
4.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,268/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,482/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,694/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,236/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,509/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,249/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.4x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,249/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
373,613 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
20%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
88.2%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
55.3% ▲
HS Diploma+
96.4% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
36,732/yr
17,447/yr
5,987/yr
3,757/yr
3,280/yr
3,231/yr
3,030/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
16.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
56.1%
Service
13%
Sales & Office
16.8%
Construction / Maint.
5.1%
Production / Transport
9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 324,319 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 20.6-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 27,191 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Dane County shows strong potential for publishing industries and telecommunications attraction, with a 7.02x concentration and 14,574 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across publishing industries and telecommunications, electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing, and lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Dane County, Wisconsin, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Dane County, Wisconsin?
572,674 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Dane County, Wisconsin?
$89,975 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Dane County, Wisconsin?
2.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Dane County, Wisconsin?
$62.8B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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