{"id":2589,"date":"2023-04-07T12:40:53","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T12:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=2589"},"modified":"2026-08-11T21:32:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:32:51","slug":"madison-county-idaho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/madison-county-idaho\/","title":{"rendered":"Madison County, Idaho"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Madison County is a county in Idaho, United States, about 30 miles north of Idaho Falls in the<br \/>\nstate&#8217;s eastern arm. It had a population of 52,913 at the 2020 census, an estimated 54,618 by<br \/>\n2024, and covers 473 square miles (1,230 km2) centred near 43\u00b047\u2032N 111\u00b040\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Rexburg is the county seat and by far the largest city; its postal code is 83440. The county<br \/>\nholds 2 incorporated cities and 4 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Mountain Time. Its<br \/>\nFIPS code is 16065.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Madison County<\/h2>\n<p>Madison County has 6 named places on record: 2 incorporated cities and 4 unincorporated<br \/>\ncommunities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place;<br \/>\nUnincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary. Madison is the<br \/>\nthird-smallest county in Idaho by land area, which keeps the list of named places short.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Rexburg<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>39,409<\/td>\n<td>83440<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sugar City<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>1,715<\/td>\n<td>83448<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hibbard<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Thornton<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Archer<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Burton<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rexburg holds three-quarters of the county&#8217;s population on its own; the four unincorporated<br \/>\ncommunities are small farm crossroads with no post office of their own and no reliable population<br \/>\ncount. Thornton sits about 7 miles south of Rexburg; Hibbard lies northwest of the city near the<br \/>\nFremont County line, close to where the Teton River crosses into the county.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>83440 &mdash; Rexburg (the county&#8217;s main ZIP, also serves BYU-Idaho campus addresses)<\/li>\n<li>83441 &mdash; Rexburg (secondary city ZIP)<\/li>\n<li>83460 &mdash; Rexburg (BYU-Idaho and PO box ZIP)<\/li>\n<li>83448 &mdash; Sugar City<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Archer, Burton, Hibbard and Thornton have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered<br \/>\nunder the Rexburg or Sugar City code, depending on which is closer.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Madison County sits in the upper Snake River Plain in eastern Idaho, a flat to gently rolling<br \/>\nvolcanic bench built up from ancient lava flows and windblown loess soil. Of its 473 square miles,<br \/>\n469 are land and 4.0 are water, about 0.8 percent &mdash; the Teton River crosses the county from<br \/>\nnortheast to southwest, and the Henry&#8217;s Fork of the Snake River forms part of the western<br \/>\nedge. Elevation in Rexburg is 4,862 feet.<\/p>\n<p>Fremont County lies to the north, Teton County, Idaho, to the east, Bonneville County to the<br \/>\nsouth, and Jefferson County to the west. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/fremont-county-idaho\/\">Fremont County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/bonneville-county\/\">Bonneville County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/jefferson-county-idaho\/\">Jefferson County<\/a> all have posts<br \/>\non this site; Teton County, Idaho, does not.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Madison County had a population of 52,913 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the<br \/>\ncounty near 54,618 residents in 2024. Rexburg and Sugar City together hold nearly all of that<br \/>\ntotal, with Rexburg alone accounting for 39,409 residents. Median household income runs about<br \/>\n$60,160, well below Idaho&#8217;s statewide figure of $74,942 (2023 ACS) &mdash; a gap driven by<br \/>\nthe large share of BYU-Idaho students counted as county residents with little or no income.<br \/>\nPopulation density works out to roughly 113 people per square mile of land.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Educational services employs the most workers in the county, about 5,982 people, reflecting<br \/>\nBrigham Young University&#8211;Idaho&#8217;s size relative to the county&#8217;s population. Health<br \/>\ncare and social assistance follows at 3,880 workers, and accommodation and food services at<br \/>\n3,871. BYU-Idaho, a private university run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,<br \/>\ndominates Rexburg&#8217;s economy and enrolls tens of thousands of students, most living in and<br \/>\naround the city. Madison Memorial Healthcare System, based in Rexburg, employs more than 800<br \/>\npeople and serves a six-county region of eastern Idaho. The volcanic soils around Rexburg and<br \/>\nSugar City support commercial potato and barley farming, a legacy of the area&#8217;s sugar-beet<br \/>\nprocessing history. About 95 percent of county residents belong to the LDS Church, which shapes<br \/>\nmuch of local civic and social life, including a near-total absence of alcohol sales.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Idaho legislature created Madison County on 18 February 1913, naming it for President<br \/>\nJames Madison. LDS Church members settled the area beginning in the 1880s, and Rexburg grew<br \/>\naround what became Ricks College &mdash; now BYU-Idaho &mdash; founded as an academy in 1888.<br \/>\nSugar City took its name from a sugar-beet processing factory built there in 1903&#8211;1904;<br \/>\nworkers who first lived in temporary shacks nicknamed the settlement &#8220;Rag Town.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>On 5 June 1976, the newly built Teton Dam upstream in Fremont County failed, releasing more<br \/>\nthan two million cubic feet per second of water down the Teton River. The flood killed 11 people,<br \/>\ncaused roughly $2 billion in damage, and left about 80 percent of Rexburg&#8217;s buildings<br \/>\ndamaged; the federal government paid out more than $300 million in claims. The dam was never<br \/>\nrebuilt, and a museum in the basement of the restored Rexburg Tabernacle now documents the<br \/>\ndisaster.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>State Highway 33 runs through Rexburg and Sugar City; U.S. Route 20 clips the county&#8217;s<br \/>\nwestern edge on its way north toward Yellowstone National Park. No interstate crosses Madison<br \/>\nCounty.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Idaho Falls &mdash; about 30 miles south<\/li>\n<li>St. Anthony &mdash; about 10 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Driggs &mdash; about 30 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Idaho National Laboratory (Idaho Falls area) &mdash; about 30 miles southwest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Idaho Falls Regional Airport, roughly 30 miles south of Rexburg, is the nearest commercial<br \/>\nairport with scheduled service. Rexburg has no Amtrak station; the nearest passenger rail access<br \/>\nis well outside the region, and most long-distance travel runs through Idaho Falls or Salt Lake<br \/>\nCity.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Madison County, Idaho located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in eastern Idaho&#8217;s Snake River Plain, about 30 miles north of Idaho Falls, bordered<br \/>\nby Fremont, Teton, Bonneville and Jefferson counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Madison County?<\/strong><br \/>\n52,913 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 54,618.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Madison County?<\/strong><br \/>\n473 square miles (1,230 km2), of which 469 square miles are land &mdash; the third-smallest<br \/>\ncounty in Idaho by area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Madison County?<\/strong><br \/>\nRexburg is the county seat and largest city, and hosts Brigham Young University&#8211;Idaho.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Madison County?<\/strong><br \/>\nTwo incorporated cities, Rexburg and Sugar City, plus four unincorporated communities: Archer,<br \/>\nBurton, Hibbard and Thornton.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Madison County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n83440, 83441 and 83460 for Rexburg, and 83448 for Sugar City.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Madison County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nBrigham Young University&#8211;Idaho, its overwhelmingly LDS population, and the 1976 Teton Dam<br \/>\nflood that devastated Rexburg and Sugar City.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/idaho\/\">Towns and villages in Idaho<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Madison County is a county in Idaho, United States, about 30 miles north of Idaho Falls in the state&#8217;s eastern arm. It had a population of 52,913 at the 2020 census, an estimated 54,618 by 2024, and covers 473 square miles (1,230 km2) centred near 43\u00b047\u2032N 111\u00b040\u2032W. Rexburg is the county seat and by far [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Madison County, Idaho","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 6 towns and communities in Madison County, Idaho - population, ZIP codes, BYU-Idaho and the 1976 Teton Dam flood.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-2589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-idaho","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2589"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9694,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589\/revisions\/9694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}