Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The 2006 population estimate of Madison was 223,389, making it the second largest city in Wisconsin, after Milwaukee, and the 82nd largest in the United States. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Dane County and neighboring Iowa and Columbia counties. The Madison MSA had a 2006 estimated population of 543,022, and is one of the fastest-growing in Wisconsin. The Madison-Baraboo Combined Statistical Area has a 2006 estimated census population of 601,283.

Wisconsin state government and the University of Wisconsin–Madison remain the top two Madison employers. However, Madison's economy today is evolving from a government-based economy to a consumer services and high-tech base, particularly in the health, biotech and advertising sectors. Beginning in the early 1990s, the city experienced a steady economic boom and has been comparatively unaffected by recession. Much of the expansion has occurred on the city's south and west sides, but it has also affected the east side near the Interstate 39-90-94 interchange and along the northern shore of Lake Mendota. Underpinning the boom is the development of high-tech companies, many actively fostered by the UW–Madison working with local businesses and entrepreneurs to transfer the results of academic research into real-world applications, most notably bio-tech applications.

 Many businesses are attracted to Madison's exceptional skill base, taking advantage of the area's high level of education. According to city-data.com, Madison has 48.2% of its population over age 25 holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Forbes magazine reported in 2004 that Madison has the highest percentage of Ph.D.s in the nation. In 2005, Forbes listed the city as having the lowest unemployment: 2.5%, less than half the U.S. 2004 average.  In 2006, the same magazine listed Madison as number 31 in the top 200 metro areas for "Best Places for Business and Careers." Forbes has however named Madison in the top ten several times within the past decade.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal , Madison and the city of Milwaukee will be cooperating to bring more business into the region. One of many hopes of this project includes the long awaited arrival of regional rail transportation. As the two cities grow ever closer, the region has occasionally been called "Madwaukee." The larger region which includes Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul has been referred to as the "Circle City."

Education

Madison is home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as well as Edgewood College, Madison Area Technical College, Herzing College, and Madison Media Institute, giving the city a student population of nearly 50,000. The University of Wisconsin contributes the vast majority of these, with roughly 41,000 students enrolled. This makes it one of the largest public universities in the United States. It is consistently rated among the top public post-secondary schools in the country. In a Forbes magazine city ranking from 2003, Madison had the highest number of Ph.D.s per capita, and third highest college graduates per capita, among ranked cities in the United States. Sports make up a large part of the campus experience at the university, both intramural and intercollegiate. The University's athletic teams, nicknamed "The Badgers", are consistently among the best in United States, drawing throngs of students, alumni, and state residents to their contests.

Additional degree programs are available through satellite campuses of Lakeland College, Upper Iowa University the University of Phoenix, Concordia University-Wisconsin, and Cardinal Stritch University for students who maintain full-time employment.

The Madison Metropolitan School District serves the city and surrounding area. With an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students in 46 schools, it is one of the larger school districts in Wisconsin.  Madison has more than six times the National Merit Scholar Semifinalists than comparable school districts. The five public high schools are: James Madison Memorial, Madison West, Madison East, Madison LaFollette, and Malcolm Shabazz City High School, an alternative school. The most notable of the private schools is Edgewood High School, located on the Edgewood College campus and Wingra School which encompasses student in grades Kindergarten through 8th.  St. Ambrose Academy is a Catholic school offering grades 6-12 on the west side.

Each of Madison's high schools is known widely throughout the state for unique special attributes. James Madison Memorial has a four-time state champion forensics team.

With the State-imposed property tax caps, the Madison School District has found itself struggling as of late. In trying to find new methods of funding and support, the School District has tried to estimate the opinions of the public by holding public sessions on their budget. While the State-imposed mandates allow for a 3.3% increase in spending, inflation amounts to a 5.4% per year, resulting in an annual increase necessary to continue previous course offerings that is below state mandates.

Madison also has an especially strong non-credit learning community with multiple programs and many private businesses also offering classes. Examples include Wisconsin Union Mini Courses, Madison School Community Recreation, St. Mary's HealthWorks, and the University of Wisconsin's Continuing Education program.

Culture

In 1996 Money magazine identified Madison as the best place to live in the United States. It has consistently ranked near the top of the best-places list in subsequent years, with the city's low unemployment rate a major contributor.

The main downtown thoroughfare is State Street, which links the University of Wisconsin campus with the State Capitol square, and is lined with restaurants, espresso cafes, and shops. Only pedestrians, buses, police, delivery vehicles and bikes are allowed on State Street.

Continuing on the other side of Capitol Square is King Street, which is now developing along the lines that State Street has, but with less of a student character, and more appeal to the growing young white-collar high-tech population in Madison. Thus, King Street has more upper-end restaurants and cafes than are found on the more student-budget State Street.

In the summer, on Saturday mornings, the Dane County Farmers' Market is held around the Capitol Square, while on Wednesday evenings, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra performs free concerts on the Capitol's lawn. The Great Taste of the Midwest craft beer festival, established in 1987 and the second longest running such event in North America, is the second Saturday in August and the highly coveted tickets sell out within an hour of going on sale in May.

Madison is host to Rhythm and Booms, a massive fireworks celebration (coordinated to music) that begins with a fly-over by several F16s from the local Wisconsin Air National Guard. This celebration is the largest fireworks display in the Midwest in terms of the length of the show, number of shells fired and the size of its annual budget.

During the winter months, Madison hosts Kites on Ice, a gathering of kite-flying enthusiasts on the ice of local Lake Monona near the state capitol.

In 2004 Madison was named the healthiest city in America by Men's Journal magazine. Many major streets in Madison have designated bike lanes and the city has one of the most extensive bike trail systems in the nation. Due to this, Madison has a very active cyclist culture and it is common place to see groups of friends bicycling together throughout the city on nice days. Bicycle tourism is an $800 million industry in Wisconsin, which has 20 percent of the nation's bicycling industry manufacturing capacity.

There are quite a few cooperative organizations in the Madison area, ranging from grocery stores (such as the Willy Street Cooperative) to housing co-ops (such as Madison Community Cooperative, Lothlórien Co-op, and Nottingham Housing Cooperative). The total number of co-ops in the area is relatively high when considering the small population of the city. Many larger cities have substantially fewer co-ops.

The city was also named the number one college sports town by Sports Illustrated in 2003.

* Please don't hestitate to contact me at 608-469-3374 or pdollard@bunburyrealtors.com for more information about the Madison area!