Living in Madison: The Homeowner Facts

At a Glance

Property Tax

For the 2025 tax year (bills payable 2026), property in Madison paid $18.10 per $1,000 of market value on average, after the state school levy credit.(County Treasurer) That is the highest of the 15 towns we compare.

The rate depends on your school district:

Assessment ratio: 0.9743, meaning assessments in Madison average 97.4% of market value.(source) That's why the rate on the bill isn't comparable between towns; our rate study adjusts for it.

• Due: four installments, January 31, March 31, May 31, July 31.(source)
• Pay to: City of Madison Treasurer.(source)
• Tax payment page: City of Madison Treasurer(source)
• Lottery and gaming credit missing? If the credit is missing, fill out the Wisconsin DOR lottery and gaming credit application. From December through July, return it to the City Treasury; at other times, to the Dane County Treasurer. New applications received in December and January are credited right away on the current bill.(source)
• Assessor: City of Madison Assessor's Office (city staff).(source) Look up a property's assessment: cityofmadison.com/assessor/property.(source)

More: Madison property tax guide and estimator · tax rates by town · your tax bill, line by line · the lottery and gaming credit · appealing an assessment.

Utilities

More: utility costs by town · energy rebates · Madison tap water by well.

Trash and Recycling

City of Madison crews pick up trash and recycling.(source) Schedules and rules: the city's trash and recycling page.(source)

More: Madison trash, recycling and pickup · landfill, Clean Sweep and disposal.

School Districts

Parts of Madison are in 5 school districts. Your address decides which one, and it also sets your tax rate.(source)

• Madison Metropolitan School District
• Verona Area School District
• Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District
• Sun Prairie Area School District
• Monona Grove School District

More: school referendums · find your address's school district.

Permits and Local Code

• Building inspection: City of Madison building inspection(source)
• Municipal code: City of Madison code of ordinances(source)

More: Madison remodel permits, project by project · Madison ADU rules · fence, yard and neighbor rules.

Maps and Property Records

• Maps from the city(source)
• Zoning map(source)
• Floodplain map(source)

More: property lookup · Dane County maps · AccessDane, step by step.

How Old the Homes Are

The median housing unit in Madison was built in 1980 (margin of error 2 years), out of 133,530 units; 50.6% were built before 1980 and 28.8% in 2000 or later. These counts include apartments and condos.(Census Bureau)(decades)

• 1939 or earlier17,310
• 1940–19495,377
• 1950–195912,369
• 1960–196915,360
• 1970–197917,146
• 1980–198912,660
• 1990–199914,851
• 2000–200919,337
• 2010–201916,569
• 2020 or later2,551

Housing units by year built, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034. Survey estimates, each with a margin of error.

Counting only houses (single-family, two- and three-unit), the City's assessor data puts Madison's median year built at 1964.(City of Madison) See when Madison's homes were built, neighborhood by neighborhood.

More: find out when your house was built · older homes.

Other Towns

Compare all 15 towns side by side, or open another town's facts:

• Cottage Grove
• DeForest
• Fitchburg
• Maple Bluff
• McFarland
• Middleton
• Monona
• Mount Horeb
• Oregon
• Shorewood Hills
• Stoughton
• Sun Prairie
• Verona
• Waunakee

Related Guides

• Madison remodel permits: project by project.
• When Madison's homes were built, neighborhood by neighborhood.
• Madison Property Tax
• Madison Trash, Recycling and Pickup
• Madison and Its Suburbs Compared