City · Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota

Madison, Minnesota

Madison is a city in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota. It has 1,550 residents. Madison, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 81 out of 100 (very high), ranking #3,049 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #234 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), property crime rate (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), job growth (low) and mental health providers (low).

81Very high

Quality-of-life score: #3,049 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #234 of 364 in MN
Population: 1,550 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,346.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2739266

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety93#1,081/15,637
Economy41#9,153/15,631
Housing59#6,123/14,977
Health61#6,039/15,609
Healthcare63#5,767/15,650
Environment95#843/15,453
Education70#4,701/15,649
Infrastructure37#9,854/15,650
Community95#765/15,651
Leisure & amenities63#5,814/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Madison, Minnesota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lac qui Parle County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Mammography screening · high65.0%
100/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLac qui Parle County value
Property crime rate · low207 /100k
99/100Minnesota 1,412 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureLac qui Parle County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Minnesota 15.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLac qui Parle County value
Social associations · high19.6 /10k
98/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLac qui Parle County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.6×
98/100Minnesota 3.7×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Public libraries · high3.0 /10k
96/100Minnesota 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLac qui Parle County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low20.0%
1/100Minnesota 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLac qui Parle County value
Job growth · low-4.8%
2/100Minnesota -0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLac qui Parle County value
Mental health providers · low30 /100k
2/100Minnesota 383 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLac qui Parle County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low30.9%
2/100Minnesota 86.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLac qui Parle County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Minnesota 8.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLac qui Parle County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Minnesota 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLac qui Parle County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
24.0% (2015-2019) → 51.7% (2020-2024)
+28 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
18.6% (2015-2019) → 30.5% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$43,750 (2015-2019) → $61,172 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.7% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.2% (2015-2019) → 20.8% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
High school diploma or higherImproving
92.0% (2015-2019) → 95.4% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Madison, Minnesota improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+40%$43,750 → $61,172

Declined1

Rent burden+28 points24.0% → 51.7%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Madison, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.3 min2015-2019	15.2 min2020-2024	+1.8 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.2%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Broadband subscriptions	75.7%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Effective property tax rate	1.47%2015-2019	1.23%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	66%
High school diploma or higher	92.0%2015-2019	95.4%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	1.5×2015-2019	1.6×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4582015-2019	0.5032020-2024	+0.044	Within the margin of error	19%
Median household income	$43,7502015-2019	$61,1722020-2024	+40%	Improved	74%
Poverty rate	13.2%2015-2019	9.9%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent as share of income	18.6%2015-2019	30.5%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent-burdened households	24.0%2015-2019	51.7%2020-2024	+28 points	Declined	4%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Madison, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Madison, Minnesota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Madison, Minnesota itself moved −11.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,550 residents (±106)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

737 households (±66)

Madison, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k23%†167
$25k–50k20%147
$50k–75k14%†103

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

737 households (±66)

Madison, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own73%539
Rent27%198

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

623 workers (±77)

Madison, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone73%455
Carpool9.6%†60
Public transit0.5%†3

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lac qui Parle County, the county holding most of Madison's residents.

Lac qui Parle County has 197 employer establishments, 295 for every 10,000 residents (1.19× the US rate of 248; 1.10× Minnesota's), with 1,712 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,649. The Census Bureau also counts 584 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 197; 584 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 295; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 1,712
Average annual pay: $51,649; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lac qui Parle County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	18	27	1.74×More than typical	28	$88,643	65
Ambulatory health care services	10	15	0.72×Fewer than typical	60	$75,400	14
Construction of buildings	10	15	1.98×More than typical	83	$176,169	24
Insurance agencies and brokerages	10	15	3.41×More than typical	24	$54,667	9
Religious organizations	10	15	2.70×More than typical	39	$16,128	—
Restaurants and other eating places	8	12	0.65×Too few to compare	105	$14,571	—
Truck transportation	8	12	2.37×Too few to compare	50	$57,600	38
Building equipment contractors	7	10.5	1.74×Too few to compare	20	$57,200	7
Banks and credit unions	6	9	2.78×Too few to compare	40	$56,525	—
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	6	9	3.63×Too few to compare	16	$59,750	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	6	9	2.85×Too few to compare	5	$141,800	15
Automotive repair and maintenance	5	7.5	1.49×Too few to compare	21	$36,762	11

Rank places for an industry Open Lac qui Parle County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,674 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Madison is mostly in Lac qui Parle County.

See federal money in Lac qui Parle County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Madison, Minnesota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Michelle FischbachR-MN-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lac qui Parle County95100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lac qui Parle County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2739266

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends