During the British colonial period, the earliest settlers of European descent arrived in this portion of New Jersey about 1715 and established "Bottle Hill" at the crossroads of Ridgedale Avenue and Kings Road. The Luke Miller house at 105 Ridgedale Avenue is thought to be the oldest remaining home, having been built around 1730. Morris County, created in 1739, was divided into three townships.

The portion of Madison north of Kings Road was put under the governance of Hanover Township and the portion to the south, under the governance of Morris Township.

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 16,530 people, 5,520 households, and 3,786 families. The population density was 1,519.6/km² (3,935.6/mi²). There were 5,641 housing units at an average density of 518.6/km² (1,343.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the population was 89.69% White, 3.00% African American, 0.13% Native American, 3.77% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.97% of the population.

The population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 17.6% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household was $82,847, and the median income for a family was $101,798. Males had a median income of $62,303 versus $42,097 for females. The per capita income was $38,416. About 2.0% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.