Fitchburg is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,260 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is a suburb of Madison and is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Fitchburg consists of a mix of suburban neighborhoods closer to the border with the city of Madison, commercial and industrial properties, and more rural properties in the southern portion of the city. Despite its status as an incorporated city, some rural parts of Fitchburg still lack certain municipal services such as sewer, water, and natural gas.
History
Fitchburg was a town until its incorporation as a city on April 26, 1983. As the city of Madison began to encroach upon the town of Fitchburg via annexation, the town pursued incorporation as a city to halt Madison's expansion into the town. The fight to allow incorporation ultimately went to the WisconsinState Supreme Court, which ruled that Fitchburg could incorporate as a city.
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $50,433, and the median income for a family was $64,106. Males had a median income of $37,440 versus $27,974 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,317. About 5.0% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 25,260 people, 9,955 households, and 6,238 families living in the city. The population density was. There were 10,668 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 72.2% White, 10.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.9% Asian, 8.8% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.2% of the population. There were 9,955 households of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couplesliving together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% 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 3.03. The median age in the city was 32.9 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 33.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 7.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.6% male and 48.4% female.
Fitchburg is served by the Fitchburg Police Department and Fitchburg Fire Department. Emergency medical services are provided by the Fitch-Rona EMS district, which also serves the neighboring city and town of Verona. Various portions of Fitchburg are served by municipal sewer, water and natural gas utilities.
Notable people
Homer A. Stone, Wisconsin State Assembly and farmer, was born in Fitchburg.
