Dane County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

. Dane County is the fastest growing county in Wisconsin. It contains nearly 10% of the population of Wisconsin, and it only contained 5% of Wisconsin's population in 1950. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the central county of the Madison metropolitan area, as well as the Madison– Janesville– Beloit combined statistical area.

History

Dane County was formed in 1836 as a territorial county and organized in 1839. It was named after

Nathan Dane Nathan Dane (December 29, 1752 – February 15, 1835) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the Continental Congress from 1785 through 1788. Dane helped formulate the Northwest Ordinance while in Congress, and ...

, a Massachusetts delegate to the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

who helped carve Wisconsin out of the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

. Dane County was settled in the 1840s by settlers from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (3.3%) is water.

Major highways

* Interstate 39 *

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

* Interstate 94 * U.S. Route 12 * U.S. Route 14 * U.S. Route 18 *

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

* U.S. Route 151 * Highway 19 (Wisconsin) * Highway 30 (Wisconsin) * Highway 69 (Wisconsin) * Highway 73 (Wisconsin) * Highway 78 (Wisconsin) * Highway 89 (Wisconsin) * Highway 92 (Wisconsin) * Highway 104 (Wisconsin) * Highway 106 (Wisconsin) * Highway 113 (Wisconsin) * Highway 134 (Wisconsin) * Highway 138 (Wisconsin) * Highway 188 (Wisconsin)

Railroads

Freight *

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

Wisconsin and Southern Railroad The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois currently operated by Watco. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) and ...

Buses

Public Transit * Metro Transit Intercity * Van Galder/Coach USA * Wisconsin Coach Lines/Coach USA *

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

Flixbus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...

* Badger Bus *

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

* Lamers Connect * Megabus

Airports

Commercial * Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) General Aviation * Blackhawk Airfield (87Y) * Middleton Municipal Airport (C29) * Verona Airport (W19) * Waunakee Airport (6P3)

Adjacent counties

* Columbia County (north) * Dodge County (northeast) * Green County (south) * Iowa County (west) * Jefferson County (east) * Rock County (southeast) *

Sauk County Sauk County is a county (United States), county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo, Wiscon ...

(northwest)

Demographics

In 2017, there were 5,891 births, giving a general fertility rate of 51.7 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the eighth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 73 of the births occurred at home, the fifth highest number of home births for Wisconsin counties. 428 of the births were to mothers who held doctorate or professional degrees, more than any other Wisconsin county. These accounted for 7.3% of total births for the county, a higher percent than any other Wisconsin county and more than Ozaukee County which had 5.8% of births to mothers who held doctorate or professional degrees and ranked second.

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 561,504. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 248,795 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 77.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 6.4% Asian, 5.4%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 3.2% from other races, and 6.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 7.5%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 488,073 people, 203,750 households, and 116,752 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 216,022 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.7% White, 5.2% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.7% Asian, 0.003% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. 5.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 203,750 households 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 30.5% of households were one person and 7.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.95. The age distribution was 21.7% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% 65 or older. The median age was 34.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 426,526 people, 173,484 households, and 100,794 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 180,398 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.96% White, 4.00% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 3.45% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. 3.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.4% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 11.5% Norwegian, 8.9% Irish and 6.0% English ancestry. Of the 173,484 households 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.10% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.90% were non-families. 29.40% of households were one person and 7.00% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97. The age distribution was 22.60% under the age of 18, 14.30% from 18 to 24, 32.50% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.30% 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males.

Religion

In 2010, the largest religious groups in Dane County by number of adherents were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

at 106,036 adherents, ELCA Lutheran at 48,620 adherents, United Methodist at 9,753 adherents, non-denominational Christian at 7,448 adherents, Evangelical Free at 6,075 adherents,

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

at 5,035 adherents, Wisconsin Synod Lutheran at 4,214 adherents, Missouri Synod Lutheran at 3,921 adherents, American Baptist at 3,755 adherents, and PC-USA Presbyterian at 3,664 adherents.

Government

Dane County is governed by a county executive and a county board of supervisors. The county executive is elected in a countywide vote. The county executive is

Melissa Agard Melissa Kristen Agard (born March 28, 1969) is an Americans, American small business owner and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Madison, Wisconsin. She is the county executive of Dane County, Wisconsin, since November ...

. The board of supervisors consists of 37 members, each elected from single member districts. As the policy-making body of the county government, the board of supervisors enacts county ordinances, levies taxes, and appropriates money for services.

Economy

Dane County's recent growth has been driven by new job opportunities in healthcare and technology fields.

Politics

Like most other counties anchored by an urban population center and a large public university, Dane County is solidly Democratic, with a long history in the progressive movement. It has backed the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

with the exception of the two nationwide landslide victories of

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, and even then, Eisenhower's margin of victory was under 3% both times. Since then, Republicans have only crossed the 35% mark six times. Within Wisconsin, only the predominantly Native American county of

Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...

is more reliably Democratic. At state level, the county is no less Democratic. The last Republicans the county supported at state level were Governor

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...

and Treasurer Jack Voight in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. The last Republican Senator to carry the county was Alexander Wiley in 1956 by less than one percent, 10 years earlier the county was the only one in the state to not vote for notorious Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

. In the three-party era of 1930s-1940s, the county backed Progressive Party candidates, such as the La Follette brothers, Orland Steen Loomis and Herman Ekern.

County executives

* George Reinke, 1973–1981 * Jonathan B. Barry, 1981–1988 * Richard J. Phelps, 1988–1997 *

Kathleen Falk Kathleen Falk (born June 26, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and policymaker from Wisconsin who served as Dane County Executive from 1997 until 2011. In 2013, she was appointed Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and H ...

, April 21, 1997 – April 18, 2011 * Joe Parisi, April 18, 2011 – May 3, 2024 * Patrick Miles (acting), May 3, 2024 – May 17, 2024 * Jamie Kuhn (interim), May 17, 2024 – November 13, 2024 *

, November 13, 2024 - present

Recreation

County parks

* Babcock County Park * Badger Prairie County Park * Blooming Grove Drumlins * Blue Mounds Natural Resource Area * Brigham County Park * CamRock County Park * Cherokee Marsh * Donald County Park * Festge County Park * Fish Camp County Park * Fish Lake County Park * Goodland County Park * Halfway Prairie School * Indian Lake County Park * Jenni & Kyle Preserve * La Follette County Park * Lake Farm County Park * Lake View Hill Park * Lussier County Park * McCarthy County Park * Mendota County Park * Phil's Woods County Park * Prairie Moraine County Park * Riley-Deppe County Park * Salmo Pond County Park * Scheidegger Forest * Schumacher Farm * Stewart Lake County Park * Token Creek County Park * Viking County Park * Walking Iron County Park * Yahara Heights County Park

Communities

Cities

: Cities are incorporated, generally have a mayor (or a administrator/manager), an elected council, and generally provide more services than smaller administrative divisions. * Edgerton (mostly in Rock County) * Fitchburg * Madison (county seat) * Middleton * Monona * Stoughton * Sun Prairie (city) *

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

Villages

: Villages are incorporated, are governed by a Village President and Board of Trustees, and provide residential services. * Belleville (partly in Green County) * Black Earth * Blue Mounds *

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

(partly in Green County) *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(partly in Jefferson County) * Cottage Grove * Cross Plains * Dane * Deerfield * DeForest * Maple Bluff *

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

* Mazomanie * McFarland *

Mount Horeb Mount Horeb (; Hebrew: ''Har Ḥōrēḇ''; Greek in the Septuagint: , ''Chōrēb''; Latin in the Vulgate: ') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God, according to the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible. I ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

* Rockdale * Shorewood Hills * Waunakee * Windsor

Towns

: Towns may have the same name as a city or village associated with it, but it is a separate municipality. Towns are not incorporated, are governed by a town board, and only provide limited services to residents. *

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

* Black Earth (town) * Blooming Grove * Blue Mounds (town) *

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

* Christiana * Cottage Grove (town) * Cross Plains * Dane * Deerfield (town) *

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

* Dunn * Mazomanie (town) *

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

* Middleton (town) * Montrose * Oregon (town) *

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

* Pleasant Springs * Primrose * Roxbury *

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

* Springdale * Springfield * Sun Prairie (town) *

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

* Westport *

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Unincorporated communities

: Unincorporated communities are smaller communities that are governed by the town they are located in and often exist as nomenclature in

vital records Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In some j ...

. *

* Aldens Corners * Ashton * Ashton Corners * Bakers Corners * Basco *

* Daleyville * Deansville * Door Creek *

* East Bristol * Elvers * Five Points * Forward * Hanerville * Highwood * Hillside * Hoffman Corners * Indian Heights * Kegonsa * Kingsley Corners * Klevenville *

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(partial) * Lutheran Hill * Martinsville * Marxville * Montrose * Morrisonville * Mt. Vernon * Nora * North Bristol * Norway Grove * Old Deerfield * Paoli * Pierceville * Pine Bluff * Primrose *

Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...

* Roxbury *

* Seminary Springs * Schey Acres * Springfield Corners *

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

* Token Creek * Utica *

* Vilas * West Middleton * York Center

Neighborhoods

: Neighborhoods exist mostly for nomenclature purposes; some may have administrative associations with powers that are defined in the property deed covenants of the neighborhood. This is a partial list that primarily consists of former unincorporated communities that are now within the boundaries of an incorporated city or village. *

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

(Madison) * Lake Windsor (Windsor) * Fitchburg Center (Fitchburg) * Middleton Junction (Madison) * Oak Hall (Fitchburg)

Native American community

* Ho-Chunk Indian Reservation

Education

School districts (all K-12) include: * Barneveld School District * Belleville School District * Cambridge School District * Columbus School District * DeForest Area School District * Deerfield Community School District * Edgerton School District * Evansville Community School District * Lodi School District * Madison Metropolitan School District * Marshall School District * McFarland School District * Middleton-Cross Plains School District * Monona Grove School District * Mount Horeb Area School District * New Glarus School District * Oregon School District * Pecatonica Area School District * Poynette School District * River Valley School District * Sauk Prairie School District * Stoughton Area School District * Sun Prairie Area School District * Verona Area School District * Waterloo School District * Waunakee Community School District * Wisconsin Heights School District

References

External links

Official Dane County government website

Dane County map
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation {{Coord, 43.07, -89.42, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-WI_source:UScensus1990 1839 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places established in 1839 Madison, Wisconsin, metropolitan statistical area