| Official Name: | Fitchburg, Wisconsin |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Dane |
| Government Type: | Mayor-council[1] |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Julia Arata-Fratta[2] |
| Leader Title1: | City Administrator |
| Leader Name1: | Chad Brecklin [7] |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 91.06 |
| Area Land Km2: | 90.44 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.62 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 35.16 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 34.92 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.24 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 29609 |
| Population Density Km2: | 340.46 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 881.79 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [4] |
| Coordinates: | 43.0064°N -89.4314°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Zipcode |
| Postal Code: | 53711, 53719 |
| Area Code: | 608 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 55-25950[5] |
Fitchburg is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 29,609 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb south of Madison and is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Fitchburg consists of a mix of suburban neighborhoods closer to the border with Madison, commercial and industrial properties, and rural properties in the south.
Fitchburg was a town until its incorporation as a city on April 26, 1983. Immigrant brothers Vroman from the Netherlands are claimed to be the first permanent settlers of Greenfield, then changed to Fitchburg to avoid confusion with Greenfield, Milwaukee County. A significant number of Irish families settled in Fitchburg as well. 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 Wisconsin Supreme Court, which ruled that Fitchburg could incorporate as a city.[6] [7]
Former unincorporated communities absorbed by Fitchburg include Fitchburg Center and Oak Hall.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.21sqmi, of which, 34.97sqmi is land and 0.24sqmi is water.[8]
As of 2021,[9] the median income for a household in the city was $78,218, and the median income for a family was $105,506. Among earners age 16 and up, males had a median income of $52,563 versus $43,133 for females. The per capita income for the city was $50,001. About 8.6% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.
As of the census[10] of 2010, there were 25,260 people, 9,955 households, and 6,238 families living in the city. The population density was 722.3PD/sqmi. There were 10,668 housing units at an average density of 305.1/sqmi. 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 couples living 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.
Julia Arata-Fratta is the mayor of Fitchburg, first elected to a three-year term in 2023.[11] Fitchburg is represented by Mark Pocan (D) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. Melissa Agard (D) and Dianne Hesselbein (D) represent Fitchburg in the Wisconsin State Senate, and Jimmy Anderson (D) and Mike Bare (D) represent Fitchburg in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
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.
Historically, Fitchburg was served by the Illinois Central Railroad and two branches of the Chicago and North Western railroad. Both the Illinois Central line and the westernmost of the two CNW lines have been replaced by rail trails that carry the Badger State Trail and Military Ridge State Trail respectively. The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad serves Fitchburg via the Reedsburg Subdivision which connects the city to Evansville to the south and Reedsburg to the north via Madison.
Fitchburg is served by Metro Transit. The B route serves the High Ridge Trail area with service to Downtown Madison towards Northport. Route D2 serves the west side of the city with service to Downtown Madison and the Dane County Regional Airport. Route G serves the Southdale neighborhood with connections to the South Transfer Point and the East Side of Madison. Route 65 provides peak hour commuter service from Downtown Madison and the UW Campus to Terravessa and Fitchburg Center neighborhoods. Route 75 provies peak hour commuter service linking Fitchburg to the Capital Square to the east, Verona and the Epic campus to the west. Fitchburg will be served by the future Metro Bus Rapid Transit system along the "north-south" route, stations are planned for Greenway Crossing, Post Rd, Cahill Main and the south terminus at McKee Road, this service is expected to start by 2027.[12] [13]
The Badger State Trail, Ice Age Trail, Cannonball trail, and SouthWest commuter trail pass through the city, Fitchburg is linked to the Madison area's extensive bike path network.