Elevation of Madison
875ft
above sea level · 267 m
Madison is the capital of Wisconsin. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 15th highest. The state’s largest city is Milwaukee.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 43.07° N · 89.40° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 43° 4′ 23″ N · 89° 24′ 4″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 16T · 304,508 E · 4,771,726 N
- Zone 16 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 286,233 people
- 84.2 sq mi of land · 3,399 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from February 2017: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Madison had 286,233 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 4.2% more than in April 2020, when it had 274,640. Its 84.2 sq mi of land work out to 3,399 people/sq mi; the state average is 110 people/sq mi.
It’s the 2nd most populous of the 808 places the Census counts in Wisconsin (cities, towns and CDPs), after Milwaukee (562,407), and holds 4.8% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Dane County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.8 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Madison sits at 875 ft (267 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Madison is 223 ft below it.
Among the 91 cities with more than 250,000 people, it’s the 25th highest.
The highest point in Wisconsin is Timms Hill, at 1,951 ft according to the USGS: 1,076 ft above Madison, 169 mi away in a straight line.
- 15 Madison 875 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Madison.
What is the elevation of Madison?
Madison is 875 feet (267 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Madison?
Latitude 43.07305 and longitude -89.40123, in decimal degrees (43° 4′ 23″ N · 89° 24′ 4″ W). In UTM, zone 16: 304,508 E and 4,771,726 N, on NAD83.
How does Madison rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 15th highest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Madison in?
Dane County, Wisconsin.
Which is higher, Madison or Milwaukee?
Madison. Madison sits at 875 ft and Milwaukee at 615 ft: a difference of 260 ft, 75 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know