Madison at a glance
- Population: roughly 12,208 people; 71st of 565 places in Indiana (Census Vintage 2023 subcounty estimate).
- 2020 Census base: 12,360 people at the 2020 Census, the baseline for the trend below (US Census Bureau).
- 2020 to 2023 change: down about 1.2% from the 2020 Census base to the 2023 estimate (US Census Bureau).
- Rank among Indiana places: 71st of 565 by population (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023).
- Size percentile: it is larger than about 87% of the places in Indiana (US Census Bureau).
- Coordinates: 38.7588, -85.3971 (Census Gazetteer, US Census Bureau).
- Nearest larger cities (within 120 miles): Seymour, IN (29 mi); Jeffersonville, IN (34 mi); Clarksville, IN (36 mi); St. Matthews, KY (38 mi); New Albany, IN (39 mi) (US Census Bureau populations).
- Nearest smaller places: Milton, KY (3 mi); Hanover, IN (5 mi); Brooksburg, IN (8 mi) (US Census Bureau estimates).
What a personal loan costs in Madison
Personal loans are closed-end installment debt, so the monthly payment and the payoff date are known from the start.
Judge an offer by its APR, which blends the interest rate with fees, and use the personal loan calculator to see the total cost.
A lender weighs your credit profile, income and debts when setting the rate, and a longer term lowers the payment at the cost of more interest overall.
A payment that strains the budget is a warning sign; a smaller loan or a little more saving time is the safer route.
Indiana lending rules that apply in Madison
The Indiana rate caps and licensing rules that reach Madison are listed below, each with its source and retrieval date.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| State lending regulator | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Consumer Credit Division Source says: "The industries regulated by the Consumer Credit Division are: non-depository small loan ("payday") lenders; traditional installment lenders". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Small-loan size limit | $825 maximum aggregate small-loan principal per borrower Source says: "Lenders cannot have loans ... outstanding with you at any one time if the aggregate principal amount/amount financed exceeds $825". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Maximum legal interest rate (usury cap) | See the latest published figure value_text left null: Indiana Code IC 24-4.5-3-508 sets tiered maximum loan finance charges for supervised loans; the official code site renders client-side and the figure could not be confirmed from a fetched page, so no figure is asserted. | Indiana General Assembly (Indiana Code) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Payday lending status | Permitted under license (small loans); finance charges capped at 15% of the first $250 (tiered above) Source says: "Finance charges on the first $250 of a small loan are limited to 15% of the principal". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Small-loan / installment lender licensing | Small Loan License required (IUCCC; separate Consumer Loan License for IC 24-4.5-3 loans) Source says: "unless a person is a supervised financial organization or has first obtained a small loan license from the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI)". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
How to compare offers in Madison
The steps below are worth completing first when you borrow in Madison:
- Pull your free credit reports and dispute any error — it is the cheapest way to improve the rate you are offered.
- Run your figures through the personal loan calculator on this site so you know the payment before a lender quotes one.
- Pre-qualify with at least three lenders and compare the APR, not the interest rate.
- Check that the lender is licensed in Indiana using the regulator named above.
- Read the disclosure for origination fees and any prepayment penalty before you sign.