$144,051 median income · 32.6% households with kids
Located in
Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Mequon is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 23,132 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$102,978 median income · 38.9% households with kids
Located in
Dane County, Wisconsin
Oregon is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the census of 2010, the population was 9,231. Oregon is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is located mostly within the Town of Oregon.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$119,606 median income · 32.2% households with kids
Located in
Dane County, Wisconsin
Verona is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, in the United States and is a suburb of Madison. The population was 10,619 at the 2010 census. The city is located ten miles southwest of downtown Madison within the Town of Verona. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$84,896 median income · 27.1% households with kids
Located in
Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Cedarburg is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located about 20 miles north of Milwaukee and near the shores of Lake Michigan. The city is bordered by the village of Grafton to the east and the Town of Cedarburg elsewhere. The population was 11,412 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,649 median income · 30.8% households with kids
Located in
Walworth County, Wisconsin
Elkhorn is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is southwest of Milwaukee and northwest of Chicago. The population was 10,084 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$125,220 median income · 41.1% households with kids
Located in
Dane County, Wisconsin
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$157,109 median income · 40.7% households with kids
Located in
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$129,548 median income · 33.0% households with kids
Located in
Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Brookfield is a city located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It had a population of 37,920 in the 2010 census. Brookfield is the third largest city in Waukesha County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$106,425 median income · 28.8% households with kids
Located in
Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Oconomowoc is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for “waterfall.” The population was 15,712 at the 2010 census. The city is partially adjacent to the Town of Oconomowoc and near the village of Oconomowoc Lake, Wisconsin.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$106,894 median income · 28.6% households with kids
Located in
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Wisconsin’s statewide median.
Wisconsin statewide median: $77,485
Wisconsin statewide median: $330,171
On the map
Where Wisconsin’s most family-friendly cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which place is best for families in Wisconsin anyways?
To give you the places in Wisconsin that are best for families, we must look at a handful of metrics. We want to measure the criteria people want in a family-friendly city utilizing Saturday Night Science.
After researching U.S. Census data produced for the state of Wisconsin, we looked at the data for every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:
- Crime (Both violent and property)
- Quality of local schools
- Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
- % of households with children
- Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries, and colleges)
We then gave each city a “Family Score.”
The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For Wisconsin, that meant a total of 78 cities.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best cities for families in Wisconsin.
The full plate
Best Places For Families In Wisconsin
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price | % Households w/ Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mequon | 25,270 | $144,051 | $647,578 | 32.6% |
| 2 | Oregon | 11,547 | $102,978 | $489,920 | 38.9% |
| 3 | Verona | 15,232 | $119,606 | $590,564 | 32.2% |
| 4 | Cedarburg | 12,605 | $84,896 | $552,361 | 27.1% |
| 5 | Elkhorn | 10,221 | $77,649 | $338,685 | 30.8% |
| 6 | Waunakee | 15,687 | $125,220 | $584,110 | 41.1% |
| 7 | Whitefish Bay | 14,665 | $157,109 | $642,953 | 40.7% |
| 8 | Brookfield | 41,273 | $129,548 | $517,699 | 33.0% |
| 9 | Oconomowoc | 19,080 | $106,425 | $537,005 | 28.8% |
| 10 | Franklin | 35,886 | $106,894 | $436,182 | 28.6% |
| 11 | Greendale | 14,594 | $94,769 | $383,283 | 32.8% |
| 12 | New Richmond | 10,539 | $88,157 | $374,056 | 34.5% |
| 13 | Menomonee Falls | 39,539 | $100,238 | $431,120 | 27.6% |
| 14 | Shorewood | 13,627 | $86,726 | $544,885 | 24.1% |
| 15 | Burlington | 10,987 | $83,419 | $351,654 | 27.8% |
| 16 | Grafton | 12,445 | $89,861 | $450,690 | 22.9% |
| 17 | Holmen | 11,372 | $79,899 | $413,026 | 33.5% |
| 18 | Hartford | 15,821 | $82,014 | $374,925 | 29.9% |
| 19 | Middleton | 22,301 | $89,524 | $613,360 | 25.3% |
| 20 | New Berlin | 40,270 | $101,091 | $448,456 | 26.3% |
| 21 | Sun Prairie | 37,570 | $90,942 | $436,614 | 32.1% |
| 22 | Port Washington | 12,645 | $81,948 | $381,021 | 23.8% |
| 23 | Muskego | 25,406 | $112,221 | $515,980 | 26.5% |
| 24 | Hudson | 14,959 | $93,937 | $496,565 | 26.1% |
| 25 | Reedsburg | 10,168 | $75,028 | $303,020 | 35.1% |
| 26 | Stevens Point | 25,785 | $58,031 | $280,949 | 21.9% |
| 27 | Monroe | 10,587 | $69,334 | $277,861 | 24.7% |
| 28 | Waukesha | 71,233 | $83,837 | $413,609 | 24.9% |
| 29 | Kenosha | 99,372 | $71,239 | $273,053 | 32.3% |
| 30 | Kaukauna | 17,706 | $80,365 | $303,856 | 29.1% |
| 31 | Menomonie | 16,539 | $56,889 | $298,133 | 20.7% |
| 32 | Caledonia | 25,257 | $93,152 | $380,069 | 27.3% |
| 33 | De Pere | 25,301 | $84,869 | $401,113 | 28.3% |
| 34 | Glendale | 13,656 | $78,092 | $351,578 | 27.0% |
| 35 | Stoughton | 13,033 | $79,551 | $428,271 | 26.7% |
| 36 | Platteville | 11,499 | $43,083 | $255,582 | 18.6% |
| 37 | Fort Atkinson | 12,463 | $79,302 | $297,960 | 22.8% |
| 38 | Portage | 10,236 | $64,722 | $288,025 | 26.6% |
| 39 | Waupun | 11,174 | $65,625 | $260,262 | 30.0% |
| 40 | Cudahy | 17,853 | $66,719 | $282,520 | 19.6% |
| 41 | Neenah | 27,336 | $75,374 | $305,615 | 31.8% |
| 42 | South Milwaukee | 20,442 | $73,427 | $300,412 | 27.9% |
| 43 | Oak Creek | 37,325 | $96,555 | $407,623 | 25.9% |
| 44 | Wauwatosa | 48,529 | $101,138 | $415,682 | 26.6% |
| 45 | Madison | 278,001 | $78,050 | $423,767 | 19.6% |
| 46 | Plover | 13,884 | $88,042 | $347,474 | 29.1% |
| 47 | Appleton | 75,023 | $80,483 | $297,642 | 28.7% |
| 48 | Wausau | 39,996 | $64,389 | $240,743 | 25.0% |
| 49 | Whitewater | 15,807 | $54,969 | $338,753 | 18.5% |
| 50 | West Bend | 32,030 | $74,076 | $347,505 | 27.0% |
| 51 | Two Rivers | 11,231 | $57,222 | $218,730 | 24.4% |
| 52 | Beaver Dam | 16,565 | $66,673 | $288,264 | 27.6% |
| 53 | Green Bay | 106,253 | $66,206 | $278,024 | 28.9% |
| 54 | Fitchburg | 32,619 | $86,516 | $501,314 | 19.9% |
| 55 | Menasha | 18,273 | $64,698 | $307,807 | 27.5% |
| 56 | Brown Deer | 12,564 | $93,974 | $283,653 | 21.6% |
| 57 | Manitowoc | 34,620 | $63,757 | $235,894 | 26.7% |
| 58 | Watertown | 22,774 | $70,107 | $318,226 | 27.6% |
| 59 | Janesville | 66,030 | $73,446 | $288,359 | 26.9% |
| 60 | Superior | 26,677 | $64,216 | $220,786 | 22.4% |
| 61 | Mount Pleasant | 27,953 | $91,616 | $336,759 | 25.9% |
| 62 | Onalaska | 19,348 | $85,867 | $359,544 | 22.5% |
| 63 | Chippewa Falls | 14,782 | $57,873 | $330,661 | 21.8% |
| 64 | Beloit | 36,534 | $62,663 | $198,921 | 29.2% |
| 65 | Eau Claire | 70,322 | $67,395 | $311,027 | 23.2% |
| 66 | Greenfield | 37,345 | $70,459 | $323,451 | 21.4% |
| 67 | Pleasant Prairie | 21,669 | $103,902 | $451,234 | 23.3% |
| 68 | Racine | 77,633 | $57,740 | $208,908 | 32.4% |
| 69 | Milwaukee | 566,973 | $54,234 | $220,137 | 28.1% |
| 70 | Marshfield | 18,700 | $58,407 | $250,143 | 21.3% |
| 71 | Oshkosh | 66,729 | $62,188 | $253,810 | 22.3% |
| 72 | Marinette | 11,115 | $58,638 | $195,369 | 21.1% |
| 73 | La Crosse | 51,356 | $55,866 | $276,422 | 18.3% |
| 74 | Sheboygan | 49,645 | $62,927 | $257,466 | 26.9% |
| 75 | West Allis | 59,612 | $67,611 | $268,506 | 21.0% |
| 76 | Wisconsin Rapids | 18,722 | $55,253 | $219,124 | 25.3% |
| 77 | Ashwaubenon | 17,314 | $69,667 | $338,976 | 21.6% |
| 78 | Fond du Lac | 44,494 | $62,260 | $253,674 | 25.2% |
Source: U.S. Census data via Saturday Night Science. 78 Wisconsin cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Raise A Family In Wisconsin
If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Wisconsin ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.
The best places for families in Wisconsin are Mequon, Oregon, Verona, Cedarburg, Elkhorn, Waunakee, Whitefish Bay, Brookfield, Oconomowoc, and Franklin.
