New data: Madison has more calls to fire and EMS, half of students are economically disadvantaged

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – New data gives us insights into Madison and how residents are living. 

The city of Madison partnered with the Applied Population Lab at UW-Madison to do a deep dive into the city and its neighborhoods. It’s called the Neighborhood Indicators Project. It includes data on everything from home values, to reading and writing scores, to crime, and pre-term births. 

The last set of data was from 2022. Now, there are just shy of 275,000 Madison residents. 

Housing

The numbers show since 2022, 5,000 more housing units have been added to the city. Single-family homes have increased in value by almost $33,000 in that time. 

Calls to Fire/EMS

Calls to the Madison Fire Department rose by 17 percent from 2022 to 2024. Calls to EMS rose by 8 percent. 

Crime

Crime data shows during those two years, the number of “person-related offenses” stayed about the same. That category includes crimes like homicide, sexual assault, other assaults, and robbery. There was a 12 percent drop in property offenses like theft and burglary. “Society-related offenses”, which includes drug and alcohol offenses, rose by about 5.5 percent from 2022 to 2024. 

Education

When it comes to education, the numbers show 52 percent of Madison third-graders, fourth-graders and fifth-graders scored “less than proficient” in English Language Arts. 

The lowest scores were concentrated on the northeast and south sides of the city. Similarly, 50 percent of Madison students are considered economically disadvantaged. 

Economy

The median household income in Madison is $77,000 per year. The data shows 7 percent of Madison residents are living in poverty. Higher median incomes were reported on the west side of the city. 

Health

The most preterm births in Madison are to families on the north side of the city. Overall, 17 percent of babies did not get adequate prenatal care.

Transportation

The data shows 12 percent of Madison households don’t own a vehicle. About 30 percent of people who work outside the home use alternative transportation, largely concentrated on the Isthmus and the near-east and near-west sides.