Madison's geographic position: North 43 degrees latitude, west 89 degrees longitude
Other side of the planet: The Indian Ocean, near the Kerguélen Islands
Madison's highest recorded local temperature: 107F, July 14, 1936
Coldest: 37F degrees, Jan. 30, 1951
Snowiest month on record: December 2008, 40.4 inches.
Population of Madison (2008 state estimate): 231,916
Population of Dane County (2008 U.S. Census estimate): 482,705
Dane County's population increase, 2000 to 2008: 13.2%
Percentage of women-owned firms in Dane County in 2002 (U.S. Census): 29.4
Percentage of Dane County residents age 25 and older who have at least a high school diploma, as of 2006: 94.6
National average: 84.1
Number of students in Madison public schools, 2007-08: 24,670
Average cost per pupil in Madison, 2007-08: $13,493
For Wisconsin as a whole: $11,894
Dane County's unemployment rate in May 2009: 5.9%
Rate in May 2008: 3%
Rank of Dane County's unemployment rate among Wisconsin's 72 counties: 72
Average assessed value of a single-family home in Madison in 2009: $245,424
Change from 2008: Minus 1%
Number of passengers at the Dane County Regional Airport in 2008: 1,471,056
Amount of money collected in 2007 by the city of Madison from parking tickets: $4,952,224
Estimated number of swimmers at Madison city beaches in 2008: 52,500
Number in 1988: 283,055
Number of visitors to Goodman Pool in 2008: 67,500
Amount of debris swept from city of Madison streets in 2008: 11,114 tons
Number of gallons of water pumped by the Madison Water Utility in 2008: 9.5 billion, the lowest in at least two decades
Number of gallons of wastewater treated by the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District: 17.3 billion
Number of fixed-route passengers on Madison Metro last year: 13,433,149
Number of items lent by the Madison Public Library last year: 4,755,181
Number of murders in Madison in 2008 (a record high): 10
Amount spent by special interests trying to influence the Wisconsin Legislature in the last legislative session (2007-08), not including campaign contributions: $62.3 million