Madison County, Alabama

Madison County is a of the  of, and is a major part of the. The county is named in honor of, fourth , and the first to visit the state of. According to the Census' estimate, the population was 298,192. Its is. Madison County covers parts of the former.

History
Madison County was established on, by the governor of the Mississippi territory. Madison County is recognized as the "birthplace" of, which was founded here on ,. For much of the county's history, the economy has revolved mostly around agriculture. Madison County was one of the largest -producing counties in the state of Alabama, and textile mills operated around the county.

This all changed when a group of German s, led by, came to Huntsville in 1950. They developed the Rocket, which eventually became the first vehicle to launch an American into space. Tens of thousands of jobs came to the area as a result of the "space race", and the population of Madison County rose from 72,903 in to an estimated  population of 298,192.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,105 km² (813 square miles). Nearly 2,085 km² (805 sq mi) of it is land, and 21 km² (8 sq mi) of it (0.98%) is water.

The topography in the southern and eastern portions of the county is dominated by the dissected remnants of the, such as , and. The northern and western portions of the county are flatter.

Major Highways

 * [[image:I-565.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:US 72.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 231.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:US 431.svg|23px]]
 * [[image:Alabama 53.svg|20px]]
 * [[image:Alabama 255.svg|23px]]

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 276,700 people, 109,955 households, and 75,319 families residing in the county. The was 133/km² (344/sq mi). There were 120,288 housing units at an average density of 58/km² (149/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 72.06%, 22.78% or , 0.77% , 1.86% , 0.06% , 0.59% from , and 1.89% from two or more races. Nearly 1.89% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 109,955 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 53.40% were living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. Nearly 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45, and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,704, and the median income for a family was $54,360. Males had a median income of $40,779 versus $26,534 for females. The for the county was $23,091. About 8.10% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the, including 14.10% of those under age 18 and 9.60% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The Madison County School System runs public schools throughout the unincorporated areas of the county and the incorporated and unincorporated communities of, , , , , , ,  and. The system runs 14 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 5 high schools and a ninth grade school, and a career/technical center.

High schools in the Madison County School System are:


 * Buckhorn (in New Market)
 * Hazel Green
 * Madison County (in Gurley)
 * New Hope
 * (in Harvest)

Municipalities and census-designated places

 * (part - part of Huntsville is in )
 * (part - part of Madison is in )
 * (part - part of Huntsville is in )
 * (part - part of Madison is in )
 * (part - part of Madison is in )