Madison neighborhoods: where to live and what each area is like

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the City of Madison’s Madison on Track 2045 Comprehensive Plan (PDF, amended June 9, 2025) and Comprehensive Planning page; Madison City Schools’ 2026-27 School Zone Locator; the Alabama State Department of Education’s state report card for 2025; Zillow Research; the Census Bureau’s QuickFacts and ZIP code areas; and OpenStreetMap.

Madison is a city of about 60,000 people just west of Huntsville, and it sits in two counties. Most of it is in Madison County; the part west of County Line Road is in Limestone County. Interstate 565 crosses the south end, U.S. 72 runs along the north edge, and Madison Boulevard runs beside I-565. Hughes Road, Wall Triana Highway, Balch Road and County Line Road carry traffic north and south. Most homes are in ZIP code 35758; the Limestone County side is mostly 35756.

City limits are uneven. The comprehensive plan describes unincorporated pockets inside and around the city and a “checkerboard” boundary with Huntsville, so a Madison mailing address does not prove a home is inside the city. Madison City Schools serves homes inside the city and the town of Triana, and its attendance zones do not follow neighborhood lines: the district splits areas between schools and rezones often, so the same street can change schools.

What this means for you

• Two high schools: Bob Jones (86 on the 2025 state report card) mostly for the east side, James Clemens (88) mostly for the west side. Check one address in the School Zone Locator.
• Home values: $376,539 in ZIP 35758 and $388,014 in ZIP 35756 in September 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Two tax rates: 69.5 mills on the Madison County side and 72.0 mills on the Limestone County side for the 2025 tax year.

The areas at a glance

Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index for the ZIP code, a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price. Seven of the eight areas share ZIP 35758, so the figure is the same for them; it does not describe any one area. The City of Madison figure was $376,486, up 0.9% in a year. High schools are from Madison City Schools’ 2026-27 zone layer; “mostly” means a few study areas go to the other school.

Map

Map by Madison News Today from the comprehensive plan’s planning areas and the main roads. City limits and roads © OpenStreetMap contributors. The lines are approximate and are not legal boundaries or school zones.

Downtown (Madison Station)

The old railroad town center around Main Street and the Madison Station Historic District, listed on the National Register in 2006, with City Hall at 100 Hughes Road, Home Place Park and Madison Elementary. Zoned for Madison Elementary, Journey Middle and James Clemens High. Read the downtown guide.

Midtown (Madison Boulevard)

The Madison Boulevard corridor between downtown and I-565, which the plan calls “the heart of Madison” and marks for redevelopment, with strip shopping centers, Journey Middle and the school district’s Central Office. Mostly zoned for James Clemens High. Read the Midtown guide.

Town Madison

The district south of I-565 and west of Zierdt Road built around Toyota Field, with houses, townhomes and apartments; the plan credits it with the jump in apartment building that saw 957 units completed in Madison in 2022 and 2023. Zoned for Journey Middle and Bob Jones High. Read the Town Madison guide.

Old Madison Pike

The established east side between Hughes Road and the Huntsville line, built around 60-acre Dublin Park and Horizon Elementary. The plan says it has grown the least of the city’s planning areas since 2010. Mostly zoned for Bob Jones High. Read the Old Madison Pike guide.

Rainbow Mountain

Northeast Madison around Rainbow Mountain, about 465 feet above the downtown railroad benchmark, with the Rainbow Mountain Preserve’s 3.96 miles of trails and Rainbow Elementary. Zoned for Discovery Middle and Bob Jones High. Read the Rainbow Mountain guide.

Mill Creek

Central west Madison along Mill Creek, with Palmer Park, the Mill Creek and Bradford Creek greenways, the dog park and Mill Creek and Heritage elementary schools. Zoned almost entirely for James Clemens High. Read the Mill Creek guide.

Gillespie Road area

North-central Madison between Browns Ferry Road and U.S. 72, with Bob Jones High, Midtown and Columbia elementary schools, Liberty Middle and about 10 neighborhood parks. Split between Bob Jones and James Clemens, roughly at Balch Road. Read the Gillespie Road guide.

West Side (Limestone County)

The part of Madison west of County Line Road, the plan’s Western Growth Area, with James Clemens High, the new Russell Branch Elementary and The Village at Oakland Springs. Taxed at 72.0 mills, with some utilities from Athens Utilities and the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority. Read the West Side guide.

Madison in numbers

From the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates for the City of Madison, on QuickFacts:

These are survey estimates with margins of error. To see how Madison compares with Huntsville and Athens on taxes, schools and home values, read Madison vs Huntsville vs Athens.

How we built this

The eight areas come from the City of Madison’s Madison on Track 2045 Comprehensive Plan, adopted Feb. 20, 2025, which names Madison Station, Midtown Madison, Town Madison, the Old Madison Pike corridor, the Western Growth Area and Rainbow Mountain, and from its earlier Key Development Area maps. Where the plan names no area, we used the main roads and streams that divide the city (Mill Creek, Gillespie Road) and the places OpenStreetMap names, such as Stone Ridge, Brentwood and Oakland. We name no subdivision unless the city or OpenStreetMap names it as a place. School zones come from Madison City Schools’ 2026-27 zone layer, scores from the state’s 2025 report card, home values from Zillow’s ZIP files and distances from the OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap roads. All were checked Oct. 17, 2026.

More guides: home prices, schools, property taxes, moving to Madison and getting around.

Frequently asked questions

What are the neighborhoods in Madison, Alabama?

This guide covers eight areas drawn from the city’s comprehensive plan and main roads: Downtown (Madison Station), Midtown, Town Madison, Old Madison Pike, Rainbow Mountain, Mill Creek, the Gillespie Road area and the West Side in Limestone County.

What ZIP codes are in Madison, Alabama?

Most of the city is in 35758. The Limestone County part, west of County Line Road, is mostly 35756. Zillow put the typical home value at $376,539 in 35758 and $388,014 in 35756 in September 2026.

Which high school will my Madison home be zoned for?

Madison City Schools has two high schools, Bob Jones and James Clemens. In the 2026-27 locator, the east side is mostly Bob Jones and the west side mostly James Clemens, but zones do not follow neighborhood lines, so check the address in the district’s School Zone Locator.

Is all of Madison in Madison County?

No. The part of the city west of County Line Road is in Limestone County, where property tax was 72.0 mills for the 2025 tax year, against 69.5 mills on the Madison County side.

What is the typical home value in Madison, Alabama?

$376,486 in September 2026, up 0.9% in a year, according to the Zillow Home Value Index, a modeled value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price.