Monona Grove School District
Cottage Grove Homes For Sale
Cottage Grove is a village east of Madison along Interstate 94, in the Monona Grove School District, with Olde Town at the old rail depot and the Glacial Drumlin State Trail heading east from Main Street.
1924
Established
7,303
Population
Dane County · Village
County
On The Map
Where Cottage Grove sits.
Dane County, Wisconsin, east of Madison along Interstate 94. Distances below are straight-line from the village, not driving times.
9 mi
The Capitol Square, Madison
as the crow flies
7 mi
Dane County Regional Airport
as the crow flies
7 mi
Dan Chin Homes, McFarland
as the crow flies
Distances are straight-line (“as the crow flies”), not driving times.
Live Listings
Homes for sale in Cottage Grove.
Real-time listings from the MLS, updated around the clock, tagged to Cottage Grove. That search can include the village and nearby addresses in the Town of Cottage Grove.
Listing data is provided courtesy of the MLS through IDX. Data is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
A Local's Perspective
Life in Cottage Grove.
Cottage Grove is a village in eastern Dane County, east of Madison. The village's About page says it was incorporated in 1924, when the limits took in what is now the Olde Town commercial area, the residential blocks on Reynolds and Clark Streets, and a strip of Main Street north to Taylor Street. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer puts the village at 4.69 square miles of land. The village's 2023 park plan cites a 2020 Census population of 7,303. The About page gives a later estimate of 9,345 and does not date that figure. Interstate 94 runs along the north side. The About page calls the upgraded I-94 and County Highway N interchange the gateway between the Madison area and the interstate corridor toward Milwaukee.
The About page traces the present village to a Chicago & North Western depot built in 1880, where the tracks crossed what is now Main Street and County Highway N. The name Cottage Grove moved with the post office from an older settlement on Vilas Road. Businesses lined both sides of the tracks. The north side is now mostly housing, and the south side is Olde Town. The village did not cross Cottage Grove Road until 1961, and a 2010 annexation carried it north of I-94.
The same history names the first large subdivisions: Seldal in 1969, at the southeast corner of Main Street and Cottage Grove Road, then Grove Heights in 1972 and Crawford in 1977. The About page says growth picked up after 1990, with more residential subdivisions, the Cottage Grove Business Park in 1996, the Piggly Wiggly and neighboring retail in 1999, and the Cottage Grove Commerce Park in 2003. Cottage Grove Road, also County Highway BB, is the old east-west road toward Madison. The village is a separate municipality from the Town of Cottage Grove around it. The 2023 park plan, citing the 2020 American Community Survey, counted 2,667 housing units and said 80.2 percent were owner-occupied. Those figures are not a count of homes on the market today.
See homes, towns and the full school list on the Monona Grove school district page.
At A Glance
- Established
- 1924
- Population
- 7,303
- County
- Dane County · Village
- School district
- Monona Grove School District
- HOA Norm
- Mixed
Highlights
What defines Cottage Grove.
Glacial Drumlin State Trail
The 2023 park plan describes a 52-mile trail from a trailhead on the east side of South Main Street, near Clark Street, east to Waukesha. The Wisconsin DNR runs the trailhead parking and restroom.
I-94 and County Highway N
The village About page calls this interchange the gateway to Madison and to the interstate toward Milwaukee. A 2010 annexation extended the village north of I-94.
Parks on both sides of town
The 2023 plan counts 297.4 acres of park and open space, 131.3 acres under the village and 166.1 under the school district, including the 68-acre Vethe School Forest. Bakken Park is listed at 38 acres.
Neighborhoods
Where to look in Cottage Grove.
Olde Town
The commercial blocks south of the old railroad, the part of the 1924 village the About page still calls Olde Town. Reynolds and Clark Streets were in that original incorporation.
Seldal, Grove Heights, and Crawford
The subdivisions the About page dates to 1969, 1972, and 1977. The 2023 park plan places Community Park, 8.8 acres, between Seldal and Southlawn, south of Cottage Grove Road off Lori Lane.
Westlawn
The west side. The 2023 plan says Granite Ridge School, on Buss Road, opened in fall 2021 next to Westlawn, and it places Red Hawk Park in the Westlawn Estates addition. Dublin Park is in Coyle Highlands, which the plan puts in the northwest.
North of I-94
Added by the 2010 annexation. The About page places the Cottage Grove Interstate Commerce Park beside the County Highway N interchange. The 2023 plan places McCarthy County Park, 220 acres, east of County N and north of the interstate.
Lifestyle
Around Cottage Grove.
Days in Cottage Grove run between the village parks, the trail east out of town, and the interstate into Madison.
Glacial Drumlin State Trail — 52 miles from the South Main Street trailhead to Waukesha, on the old rail bed. The 2023 plan says bikers age 16 and over need a state trail pass, and that hiking does not. A village path continues from the trailhead through Fireman's and Bakken Parks to Vilas Road.
Bakken Park — 38 acres in the 2023 plan, west of Fireman's Park, with a splash pad, skate park, pump track, Dream Park playground, and a Miracle League field.
Fireman's Park — 11 acres at the west end of Reynolds Street, next to Bakken Park, with ball fields and a shelter.
Northlawn Park — 13 acres on the north side, with ball fields and tennis courts. The 2023 plan places it beside Taylor Prairie School, which the district has since closed.
Governor Taylor Park — a 5-acre conservancy north of Cottage Grove Road, off Oak Street. The About page names it for William R. Taylor, who farmed here and whom that page calls Wisconsin's 12th governor.
Village Hall — the municipal building at 221 East Cottage Grove Road.
McCarthy County Youth and Conservation Park — 220 acres east of County Highway N and north of I-94, with hiking trails, equestrian trails, and a sledding hill.
Schools
Schools for Cottage Grove.
The Monona Grove School District's locations page says students in Cottage Grove attend elementary school in the village, then join Monona students for middle school and high school. The district runs other schools, including Winnequah School in Monona. A house with a Cottage Grove address is not a promise that it is assigned to the buildings below.
Elementary
- Cottage Grove School
Intermediate
- Granite Ridge School
Middle
- Glacial Drumlin School
High
- Monona Grove High School
Grades and addresses are from the Monona Grove School District's schools and locations pages. On December 16, 2025, the school board approved closing Taylor Prairie School and sending Cottage Grove 4K-2 students to Cottage Grove School starting in 2026-27. MG21, a charter on the Monona campus, also enrolls students from both communities and is not the assigned school for a Cottage Grove address. Open enrollment can place a student elsewhere, and a Cottage Grove mailing address in the Town of Cottage Grove is not always in this district. Confirm the schools for a specific address with the district.
HOAs & POAs
Cottage Grove HOA norms
Cottage Grove is a village, not one homeowners association wrapped around every house. Streets in the 1924 village, around Olde Town, often have no association. Subdivisions the About page dates from 1969 onward can, and so can later townhome and condominium buildings. If a listing mentions an association, ask for the current documents before you write an offer.
New Construction
Building in Cottage Grove
The About page says the village grew slowly until 1990, then added subdivisions, two business parks, and the 2010 annexation north of I-94. The 2023 park plan says Wisconsin Department of Administration projections from 2013, 7,845 people in 2025 and 8,990 in 2035, look low, and that the village population will likely pass 10,000 before 2030. That is the plan's statement, not a count of lots on the market. Listings are usually resales, with new construction in some weeks. When a listing is new, ask about permits, any association, and what the village allows on that lot.
Keep Exploring
School districts near Cottage Grove.
Straight Answers
Cottage Grove buyer questions, answered.
Which school district serves Cottage Grove?
The Monona Grove School District. Its locations page places Cottage Grove students in Cottage Grove School for grades 4K-2, at 470 North Main Street, and Granite Ridge School for grades 3-5, at 4500 Buss Road. Glacial Drumlin School, at 801 Damascus Trail in Cottage Grove, serves grades 6-8 for Cottage Grove and Monona. Monona Grove High School, at 4400 Monona Drive in Monona, serves grades 9-12 for both communities. On December 16, 2025, the board approved closing Taylor Prairie School and consolidating Cottage Grove 4K-2 students at Cottage Grove School starting in 2026-27. A Cottage Grove mailing address in the Town of Cottage Grove can fall in a different district. Confirm the assigned schools for a specific address with the district.
What kinds of homes are in Cottage Grove?
Mostly single-family houses, plus townhomes and some commercial-edge buildings. The About page names Seldal, Grove Heights, and Crawford as the subdivisions of 1969, 1972, and 1977, and says numerous subdivisions followed after 1990. The 2023 park plan, citing the 2020 American Community Survey, counted 2,667 housing units and said 80.2 percent were owner-occupied. Those figures are not a count of homes on the market today.
Is Cottage Grove the same as the Town of Cottage Grove?
No. The village is the incorporated municipality along Cottage Grove Road and County Highway N, including the land annexed north of I-94 in 2010. The Town of Cottage Grove is the township around it. A listing can say Cottage Grove because that is the mailing address even when the house is in the town. The village and parts of the town are not always in the same school district. Ask which municipality a specific house is in.
Is there much new construction in Cottage Grove?
The village has been adding houses for decades. The About page dates the faster growth to the years after 1990, and the 2023 park plan still treats the village as growing. Most weeks the listings include resales. A given week can also include new construction. Ask which homes are actually listed right now.
How do people get from Cottage Grove to Madison?
Most people drive. Interstate 94 runs along the north side of the village, and Cottage Grove Road, County Highway BB, runs west toward Madison's east side. The village's About page describes the I-94 and County Highway N interchange as the gateway to the Madison area. Distances on the map are straight-line miles, not driving times.
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