Madison is the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. The population was 269,840 as of the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Wisconsin, after Milwaukee, and the 77th-most populous in the United States. The Madison metropolitan area had a population of 680,796. The city is located on an isthmus and lands surrounding five lakes—Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Lake Wingra, Lake Kegonsa and Lake Waubesa.