Madison County, Idaho facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Madison County
U.S. county
Madison County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Idaho
Idaho's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Idaho
Founded	February 18, 1913
Named for	James Madison
Seat	Rexburg
Largest city	Rexburg
Area
• Total	473 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Land	469 sq mi (1,210 km2)
• Water	4.0 sq mi (10 km2)  0.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	52,913
• Estimate  (2023)	54,547
• Density	111.87/sq mi (43.19/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Madison County is a special area called a county in the state of Idaho. In 2020, about 52,913 people lived here. The main city and biggest city in Madison County is Rexburg. This county is also part of a larger area around Rexburg and the Idaho Falls metropolitan area.

History of Madison County

This area was first settled by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Christian church. Before February 1913, Madison County was part of a nearby county called Fremont County. When it became its own county, it was named after James Madison, who was an early president of the United States.

Brigham Young University–Idaho is a university located in Madison County. It used to be called Ricks College, named after an early settler from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas Edwin Ricks.

In 1976, Madison County was declared a national disaster area because of a big flood that happened on June 5th.

Madison County also owns the healthcare system in the area. This system is managed by a group called Madison Memorial. Madison Memorial started in 1951 when local doctors decided the community needed its own hospital. They worked with the community to build Madison Memorial, which is a non-profit healthcare system. It has grown a lot since then and helps keep people healthy in the region. It serves several counties, including Jefferson, Madison, Fremont, Teton, Clark, and Lemhi. Madison Memorial is also the closest hospital to Yellowstone National Park.

Geography of Madison County

Madison County covers about 473 square miles. Most of this area, about 469 square miles, is land, and only a small part, about 4.0 square miles, is water. It is the third-smallest county in Idaho based on its size.

Counties Nearby

• Fremont County - to the north
• Teton County - to the east
• Bonneville County - to the south
• Jefferson County - to the west

Main Roads

• US 20
• SH-33

Protected Natural Areas

• Targhee National Forest (part of it is in Madison County)

People of Madison County

In 2010, there were 37,536 people living in Madison County. Most people were white (about 93.9%). Other groups included Asian (0.9%), Black or African American (0.5%), and American Indian (0.3%). About 5.9% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin.

The average age of people in Madison County in 2010 was about 22.6 years old. Many households (38.8%) had children under 18 living with them.

Communities in Madison County

Cities

• Rexburg
• Sugar City

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller communities that are not officially cities.

• Archer
• Burton
• Thornton
• Hibbard

Education in Madison County

Several school districts serve the students in Madison County:

• Fremont County Joint School District 215
• Jefferson County Joint School District 251
• Madison School District 321
• Sugar-Salem Joint School District 322

The College of Eastern Idaho also includes this county in the area it serves, even though the county does not pay taxes to support the college.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Madison (Idaho) para niños