Madison, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Madison · Morgan County, Georgia
Population 4,714 (est. 2026: ~5,200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 3.18% annual growth projection

Madison, Georgia

Morgan County, Georgia · Population 4,447

Madison sits on U.S. Highway 278 about 60 miles east of Atlanta, roughly halfway between the capital and Augusta. It is the county seat of Morgan County, a modest-sized rural county with about 20,097 residents. What sets Madison apart from the dozens of small Georgia county seats along the I-20 corridor is its intact antebellum historic district — a compact downtown of 19th-century commercial buildings surrounded by neighborhoods of preserved Greek Revival and Victorian homes. The town has a genuine small-city structure: a hospital, a library, a county school system, and a functioning commercial core. It draws weekend visitors from Atlanta while remaining a working town for the roughly 4,500 people who actually live here.

People & Demographics

Madison's population of 4,574 skews slightly older than a typical small Georgia town, with a median age of 39.5. The racial breakdown is roughly 57.8% white and 40.1% Black, reflecting the demographic patterns common to the Georgia Piedmont. Hispanic and Latino residents number 155, about 3.4% of the population. There are 2,094 households, of which 1,382 are family households. The average household size is 2.12 — relatively small, suggesting a mix of retirees, empty nesters, and single-person households alongside families. Children under 18 number 1,004, about 22% of the population.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Madison is $73,965, which compares favorably to Georgia's overall median and reflects the town's role as a professional and administrative center for the county. Per capita income stands at $42,167. Of the 2,241 residents in the labor force, only 19 are counted as unemployed — a strikingly low figure. The poverty count is 506 residents, roughly 11% of the population, consistent with rural Georgia patterns but not dramatically elevated. Morgan Medical Center is the largest single institutional employer in the area. County government, retail, and small professional services round out the employment picture.

Housing

Madison has 2,231 total housing units, with 2,094 occupied and 137 vacant — a vacancy rate of about 6.1%, indicating a reasonably tight market. The owner-renter split runs counter to many small Southern towns: renters outnumber owners at 1,218 renter-occupied units versus 876 owner-occupied. That breakdown is worth noting for anyone expecting a sleepy homeowner-dominated courthouse town. The median home value is $270,200, and median gross rent is $1,040 per month. Home values in Madison have been pushed upward by proximity to Atlanta and the desirability of the historic district, making it less affordable than surrounding rural Morgan County.

Schools

Madison is served entirely by Morgan County Schools. There is no separate city school system. All students feed into a single countywide district:

Total district enrollment across these four schools is 3,514 students. The high school draws from the entire county, not just Madison proper.

Getting Around

Madison is a car-dependent town with no public transit — zero residents reported using public transportation to commute. Of 2,222 workers, 1,857 drove alone and 128 carpooled. Fifty-four residents walked to work, a notable figure for a small town and consistent with the walkable downtown core. Another 125 worked from home. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 37,750 minutes, which works out to an average of roughly 17 minutes per commuter — short by Georgia standards and a reflection of how many residents work locally or in nearby small cities rather than commuting into Atlanta.

Healthcare

Morgan Medical Center serves Madison and Morgan County. The hospital is located in town. For a directory of individual licensed providers practicing in Madison, the CMS NPI Registry lists local clinicians at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov. For specialized or tertiary care, residents typically travel to Athens (about 40 miles northeast) or Atlanta.

Library

The Morgan County Library serves the county from Madison and can be reached at (706) 342-1206. It is part of the Georgia Public Library Service network.

Natural Hazards

Morgan County has accumulated a substantial FEMA disaster declaration history. The county has been included in thirteen federal declarations since 1977:

The pattern is clear: winter storms, tropical systems tracking inland, and severe convective weather are the dominant hazard categories here.

Government & Municipal Code

Madison's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/madison_county. Note that no local building code is recorded for Madison — construction standards default to state codes and county-level requirements.

Weather

Current National Weather Service forecasts for Madison are available at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts can be checked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is Madison 1.5 NNE, located approximately 0.9 miles from town center.

References

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)