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

As of the 2010 census, Madison had a population of 233,209. making it the second largest city in Wisconsin, after Milwaukee, and the 81st 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. Madison's suburbs include DeForest, Fitchburg, Maple Bluff, McFarland, Middleton, Monona, Oregon, Shorewood Hills, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, and Waunakee. The Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area had a 2010 population of 568,593.