Dane County, Wisconsin

Dane County, Wisconsin
The Dane County Courthouse, 2004
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location in the U.S.
Founded	1839
Named for	Nathan Dane
Seat	Madison
Largest city	Madison
Area
• Total	1,238 sq mi (3,206 km2)
• Land	1,197 sq mi (3,100 km2)
• Water	41 sq mi (106 km2), 3.3%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	523,643 [1]
• Density	431/sq mi (166/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.countyofdane.com

Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 488,073,^[2] making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The 2015 estimate places the county's population at 523,643.^[3] The county seat is Madison,^[4] which is also the state capital.

Dane County is part of the Madison, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical 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.^[5] It was named after Nathan Dane, a Massachusetts delegate to the Congress of the Confederation who helped carve Wisconsin out of the Northwest Territory.^[6][7] Dane County was first settled in the 1840s by settlers from New England.^[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,238 square miles (3,210 km²), of which 1,197 square miles (3,100 km²) is land and 41 square miles (110 km²) (3.3%) is water.^[9]

Major highways

Airports

• Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) supports commercial airline service for Dane County.
• Middleton Municipal Airport (C29) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

• Columbia County (north)
• Dodge County (northeast)
• Green County (south)
• Iowa County (west)
• Jefferson County (east)
• Rock County (southeast)
• Sauk County (northwest)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census^[15] of 2010, there were 488,073 people, 203,750 households, and 116,752 families residing in the county. The population density was 394 people per square mile (152/km²). There were 216,022 housing units at an average density of 174 per square mile (67/km²). 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.

There were 203,750 households out of which 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 all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 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% who were 65 years of age 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 Age Pyramid for Dane County.

2000 census

As of the census^[15] of 2000, there were 426,526 people, 173,484 households, and 100,794 families residing in the county. The population density was 355 people per square mile (137/km²). There were 180,398 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile (58/km²). 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, 11.5% Norwegian, 8.9% Irish and 6.0% English ancestry.

There were 173,484 households out of which 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 all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out with 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% who were 65 years of age 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.

Government

Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison

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 Joe Parisi. 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.

County Executives

• George Reinke, 1973-1981
• Jonathan B. Barry, 1981-1988
• Richard J. Phelps, 1988-1997
• Kathleen Falk, 1997-2011
• Joe Parisi, 2011–present

Board of Supervisors

Recreation

County parks

Communities

Cities

Villages

Towns

Unincorporated communities

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dane County, Wisconsin

References

Further reading

• Biographical Review of Dane County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Biographical Review Publishing Company, 1893.
• Cassidy, Frederic G. Dane County Place-Names. 2nd ed. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2009.
• Durrie, Daniel S. A History of Madison, the Capital of Wisconsin; including the Four lake country. Madison: Atwood & Culver, 1874.
• Madison, Dane County and Surrounding Towns. Madison: W. J. Park, 1877.
• Ruff, Allen and Tracy Will. Forward!: A History of Dane, the Capital County. Cambridge, Wis: Woodhenge Press, 2000.

External links

• Official Dane County Government website
• Official Dane County highway map

	Sauk County	Columbia County	Dodge County
	Iowa County		Jefferson County
		Dane County, Wisconsin
		Green County	Rock County

Madison, Wisconsin Metropolitan Area
Surrounding communities	(over 10,000) Fitchburg° Middleton° Stoughton° Sun Prairie° Verona° Waunakee‡ (under 10,000) Arena‡ Arlington‡ Ashton Corners† Blooming Grove* Barneveld‡ Bristol* Burke* Columbus‡ Cottage Grove‡ DeForest‡ Dunkirk* Dodgeville° Dunn* Hope† Lodi‡ Lake Wisconsin§ Madison* Maple Bluff‡ McFarland‡ Mt Horeb‡ Monona° Montrose* Oregon‡ Pardeville‡ Pleasant Springs* Portage° Poynette‡ Ridgeway‡ Shorewood Hills‡ Springfield* Westport* Wisconsin Dells° Windsor‡ Wyocena*
Counties	Columbia Dane Green Iowa
*town ‡village °city §CDP †unincorporated community

Municipalities and communities of Dane County, Wisconsin, United States
County seat: Madison
Cities	Edgerton‡ Fitchburg Madison Middleton Monona Stoughton Sun Prairie Verona
Villages	Belleville‡ Black Earth Blue Mounds Brooklyn‡ Cambridge‡ Cottage Grove Cross Plains Dane Deerfield DeForest Maple Bluff Marshall Mazomanie McFarland Mount Horeb Oregon Rockdale Shorewood Hills Waunakee Windsor
Towns	Albion Berry Black Earth Blooming Grove Blue Mounds Bristol Burke Christiana Cottage Grove Cross Plains Dane Deerfield Dunkirk Dunn Madison Mazomanie Medina Middleton Montrose Oregon Perry Pleasant Springs Primrose Roxbury Rutland Springdale Springfield Sun Prairie Vermont Verona Vienna Westport York
Unincorporated communities	Albion Aldens Corners Ashton Ashton Corners Bakers Corners Basco Burke Daleyville Deansville Door Creek Dunkirk East Bristol Elvers Five Points Forward Hanerville Highwood Hillside Hoffman Corners Hope Indian Heights Kegonsa Kingsley Corners Klevenville Lake Windsor London‡ Lutheran Hill Martinsville Marxville Middleton Junction Montrose Morrisonville Mount Vernon Nora North Bristol Norway Grove Old Deerfield Paoli Pierceville Pine Bluff Primrose Riley Roxbury Rutland Schey Acres Seminary Springs Springfield Corners Stone Token Creek Utica Vermont Vilas West Middleton York Center
Neighborhoods	Fitchburg Center Oak Hall
Indian reservation	Ho-Chunk Indian Reservation‡
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

State of Wisconsin
Madison (capital)
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Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics
Regions	Apostle Islands Central Plain Central Wisconsin Chippewa Valley Door Peninsula Driftless Area Eastern Ridges and Lowlands Fox River Valley Great River Road Lake Superior Lowland Northern Highland Western Upland
Major metropolitan areas (pop. over 500,000)	Chicago metropolitan area Madison metropolitan area Milwaukee metropolitan area Twin Cities metropolitan area
Largest cities (pop. over 50,000)	Appleton Eau Claire Green Bay Janesville Kenosha La Crosse Madison Milwaukee Oshkosh Racine Waukesha West Allis
Smaller cities (pop. 15,000 to 50,000)	Beaver Dam Beloit Brookfield Cudahy De Pere Fitchburg Fond du Lac Franklin Greenfield Hudson Kaukauna Manitowoc Marshfield Menasha Menomonie Mequon Middleton Muskego Neenah New Berlin Oak Creek Oconomowoc Onalaska River Falls Sheboygan South Milwaukee Stevens Point Sun Prairie Superior Watertown Wausau Wauwatosa West Bend Wisconsin Rapids
Largest villages (pop. over 15,000)	Ashwaubenon Caledonia Germantown Howard Menomonee Falls Mount Pleasant Pleasant Prairie
Counties	Adams Ashland Barron Bayfield Brown Buffalo Burnett Calumet Chippewa Clark Columbia Crawford Dane Dodge Door Douglas Dunn Eau Claire Florence Fond du Lac Forest Grant Green Green Lake Iowa Iron Jackson Jefferson Juneau Kenosha Kewaunee La Crosse Lafayette Langlade Lincoln Manitowoc Marathon Marinette Marquette Menominee Milwaukee Monroe Oconto Oneida Outagamie Ozaukee Pepin Pierce Polk Portage Price Racine Richland Rock Rusk Sauk Sawyer Shawano Sheboygan St. Croix Taylor Trempealeau Vernon Vilas Walworth Washburn Washington Waukesha Waupaca Waushara Winnebago Wood

Coordinates: 43°04′N 89°25′W / 43.07°N 89.42°W / 43.07; -89.42