Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Wisconsin a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Wisconsin.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Badger State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Wisconsin, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 72 counties in the state.
Waukesha County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Wisconsin. And you should avoid Milwaukee County if you can — at least according to the data.
$106,076 median income · 2.3% unemployment
$96,996 median income · 2.8% unemployment
$103,046 median income · 2.6% unemployment
$96,359 median income · 2.5% unemployment
$88,810 median income · 2.1% unemployment
$89,975 median income · 2.4% unemployment
$74,795 median income · 2.4% unemployment
$85,069 median income · 2.7% unemployment
$82,725 median income · 1.5% unemployment
$82,182 median income · 3.1% unemployment
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
Wisconsin statewide median: 3.2%
On the map
Where Wisconsin’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Wisconsin county is the best?
To give you the best county in Wisconsin, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in Wisconsin across each of the criteria from one to 72, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Wisconsin.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Badger State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in Wisconsin.
Read on to see why Waukesha County is the best county, while Milwaukee County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Wisconsin.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Wisconsin
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waukesha County | 411,762 | $106,076 | $494,695 |
| 2 | Ozaukee County | 92,966 | $96,996 | $494,294 |
| 3 | St. Croix County | 96,033 | $103,046 | $467,939 |
| 4 | Washington County | 137,879 | $96,359 | $423,203 |
| 5 | Calumet County | 52,942 | $88,810 | $370,910 |
| 6 | Dane County | 572,674 | $89,975 | $465,320 |
| 7 | Door County | 30,445 | $74,795 | $424,675 |
| 8 | Outagamie County | 192,826 | $85,069 | $337,446 |
| 9 | Kewaunee County | 20,664 | $82,725 | $312,593 |
| 10 | Iowa County | 23,867 | $82,182 | $335,142 |
| 11 | Pierce County | 42,584 | $92,109 | $361,589 |
| 12 | Green County | 37,017 | $82,852 | $327,448 |
| 13 | Oneida County | 38,167 | $69,371 | $311,080 |
| 13 | Oconto County | 39,589 | $75,049 | $300,350 |
| 15 | Columbia County | 58,272 | $85,351 | $351,613 |
| 16 | Sheboygan County | 117,991 | $73,094 | $315,782 |
| 17 | Brown County | 270,892 | $79,649 | $348,016 |
| 18 | Jefferson County | 86,003 | $83,750 | $359,899 |
| 19 | Sauk County | 66,009 | $79,541 | $330,477 |
| 20 | Walworth County | 105,657 | $80,520 | $404,316 |
| 21 | Chippewa County | 66,799 | $74,680 | $314,131 |
| 22 | Marathon County | 138,403 | $77,884 | $270,800 |
| 22 | La Crosse County | 120,488 | $73,013 | $326,200 |
| 24 | Polk County | 45,555 | $77,219 | $328,021 |
| 25 | Douglas County | 44,229 | $75,099 | $249,938 |
| 26 | Winnebago County | 171,769 | $74,925 | $297,134 |
| 27 | Portage County | 70,832 | $76,070 | $314,196 |
| 28 | Dodge County | 88,742 | $75,929 | $315,129 |
| 29 | Bayfield County | 16,575 | $71,151 | $294,111 |
| 30 | Vilas County | 23,647 | $68,431 | $389,397 |
| 31 | Dunn County | 45,527 | $74,824 | $306,489 |
| 31 | Eau Claire County | 107,116 | $74,546 | $314,564 |
| 33 | Fond du Lac County | 104,137 | $74,275 | $282,904 |
| 34 | Buffalo County | 13,393 | $70,479 | $247,941 |
| 35 | Manitowoc County | 81,406 | $69,148 | $255,268 |
| 36 | Rock County | 164,350 | $75,673 | $286,957 |
| 37 | Waupaca County | 51,569 | $72,830 | $280,716 |
| 38 | Pepin County | 7,431 | $75,256 | $278,228 |
| 39 | Kenosha County | 168,438 | $81,239 | $323,633 |
| 40 | Trempealeau County | 30,839 | $76,313 | $271,969 |
| 41 | Racine County | 197,532 | $78,096 | $304,766 |
| 42 | Iron County | 6,210 | $60,625 | $210,259 |
| 43 | Lincoln County | 28,426 | $68,164 | $237,321 |
| 44 | Shawano County | 41,039 | $66,479 | $271,642 |
| 45 | Wood County | 74,004 | $67,989 | $223,020 |
| 45 | Marinette County | 42,046 | $63,809 | $210,151 |
| 47 | Washburn County | 16,854 | $63,441 | $303,500 |
| 48 | Taylor County | 20,024 | $69,350 | $226,316 |
| 49 | Barron County | 46,797 | $65,933 | $278,689 |
| 50 | Marquette County | 15,746 | $65,681 | $263,565 |
| 51 | Green Lake County | 19,263 | $68,196 | $286,241 |
| 52 | Lafayette County | 16,942 | $76,462 | $233,379 |
| 53 | Vernon County | 31,049 | $71,893 | $256,887 |
| 54 | Burnett County | 16,916 | $62,819 | $290,650 |
| 54 | Grant County | 51,770 | $66,858 | $222,304 |
| 56 | Price County | 14,092 | $60,546 | $200,456 |
| 57 | Florence County | 4,646 | $61,086 | $198,944 |
| 58 | Richland County | 17,205 | $66,420 | $267,993 |
| 59 | Monroe County | 46,208 | $69,467 | $254,612 |
| 60 | Sawyer County | 18,476 | $60,801 | $326,863 |
| 61 | Juneau County | 26,689 | $67,270 | $255,309 |
| 62 | Crawford County | 16,042 | $64,094 | $230,022 |
| 63 | Ashland County | 16,080 | $62,462 | $186,085 |
| 64 | Menominee County | 4,252 | $62,108 | $299,211 |
| 65 | Waushara County | 24,868 | $67,107 | $274,993 |
| 66 | Jackson County | 20,981 | $68,110 | $226,146 |
| 67 | Langlade County | 19,490 | $55,878 | $215,146 |
| 68 | Adams County | 21,123 | $59,442 | $246,818 |
| 69 | Forest County | 9,369 | $61,071 | $215,025 |
| 70 | Rusk County | 14,179 | $59,944 | $204,725 |
| 71 | Clark County | 34,739 | $67,400 | $217,631 |
| 72 | Milwaukee County | 926,331 | $64,435 | $283,167 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 72 Wisconsin counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In Wisconsin To Call Home For 2026
Living in Wisconsin can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in Wisconsin are Waukesha County, Ozaukee County, St. Croix County, Washington County, Calumet County, Dane County, Door County, Outagamie County, Kewaunee County, and Iowa County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
