2010 County Population Counts Show 14.45% Growth

Census 2010 shows a 14.4 % increase in the Dane County population over the last decade, at 488,073, up from 426,526 in 2000, an increase of 61,547 residents.  While it is the second largest county in the state, (a little over half the population of Milwaukee County’s 947,735), Dane County had the largest population increase among all 72 counties.

In Dane County cities, the greatest population increases were in Madison (25,155 residents), Sun Prairie (8,995) and Fitchburg (4,759).

City of Fitchburg, City of Madison, & City of Sun Prairie

Within Dane county, the number of residents in small cities and villages increased 22.5%. The City of Madison grew 12.1 %. Towns increased 5.5 %.

Fastest growing villages were the Dane County portion of Brooklyn (86.5%), Cottage Grove (52.5%), and Verona (50.6%).
In 2000, 48.8 % of Dane County residents lived in the City of Madison (47.8 % in 2010), 33.7 % lived in smaller cities or villages, (36.1 % in 2010), and 17.5 % lived in towns (16.2 % in 2010).

Village of Brooklyn, Village of Cottage Grove, & City of Verona

The Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) in 2008 provided population projections of 489,712 in 2010.  The projection was just 0.03 % higher than the actual Census count. The DOA projects that the Dane County will reach 653,876 residents by 2035, increasing 60,000 to 70,000 per decade.

While the growth rate of the 2000s exceeded that of the 70s and 80s, Dane County’s fastest growth in recent decades occurred in the 1990s at 16.2% with an additional 59,441 residents.
- Barbara Weber, CARPC staff

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