You’ve seen these lists before: Best places to live in Wisconsin, Most Beautiful Downtowns, etc., etc. But all of them focus on major cities and towns in the Badger State and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the best small towns in Wisconsin based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.
We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section; but first, we thought you might just want to know which places in Wisconsin ranked the based–you know, based on science.
Before we get to the top 15, here’s a look at the 10 Best Small Towns To Live in Wisconsin for 2020.
The 10 Best Small Towns To Live In Wisconsin For 2020
- Maple Bluff (Homes)
- Shorewood Hills (Homes)
- Cross Plains (Photos | Homes)
- Bayside (Photos | Homes)
- Okauchee Lake (Homes)
- Howards Grove (Photos | Homes)
- Prairie du Sac (Homes)
- Wind Point (Homes)
- Combined Locks (Photos | Homes)
- Kohler (Photos | Homes)
What’s the best small town in Wisconsin? Maple Bluff is the best small town in Wisconsin based on the most recent Census data. If you live in one of these small towns like Maple Bluff, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.
But for the rest of you–keep reading and we’ll get to just why these small towns made our list.
For more reading on the Badger State check out:
- Best Places To Live In Wisconsin
- Cheapest Places To Live In Wisconsin
- Most Dangerous Cities In Wisconsin
The 15 Best Small Towns In Wisconsin For 2020
/10
Population: 1,422
Median Income: $149,688 (3rd Best)
Median Home Value: $494,000 (3rd Best)
More on Maple Bluff: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 2,214
Median Income: $125,893 (4th Best)
Median Home Value: $645,600 (2nd Best)
More on Shorewood Hills: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 4,106
Median Income: $81,620 (24th Best)
Median Home Value: $265,500 (15th Best)
More on Cross Plains: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 4,529
Median Income: $101,250 (11th Best)
Median Home Value: $349,400 (9th Best)
More on Bayside: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 4,409
Median Income: $112,625 (5th Best)
Median Home Value: $364,500 (7th Best)
More on Okauchee Lake: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 3,254
Median Income: $78,399 (30th Best)
Median Home Value: $178,600 (58th Best)
More on Howards Grove: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 4,288
Median Income: $60,556 (92nd Best)
Median Home Value: $227,000 (26th Best)
More on Prairie Du Sac: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 1,766
Median Income: $102,750 (9th Best)
Median Home Value: $246,900 (19th Best)
More on Wind Point: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 3,570
Median Income: $69,423 (56th Best)
Median Home Value: $168,700 (70th Best)
More on Combined Locks: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 2,193
Median Income: $84,813 (18th Best)
Median Home Value: $239,500 (23rd Best)
More on Kohler: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 3,632
Median Income: $151,667 (2nd Best)
Median Home Value: $434,500 (4th Best)
More on Merton: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 3,053
Median Income: $72,944 (47th Best)
Median Home Value: $190,300 (45th Best)
More on Lodi: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 3,803
Median Income: $86,857 (16th Best)
Median Home Value: $245,900 (21st Best)
More on North Hudson: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 2,988
Median Income: $60,463 (93rd Best)
Median Home Value: $149,300 (101st Best)
More on Oostburg: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 3,467
Median Income: $63,484 (77th Best)
Median Home Value: $191,500 (44th Best)
More on Sauk City: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Wisconsin
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2014-2018 American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which, there were a lot – 235 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 235, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Wisconsin. Top of that list — Maple Bluff. You can download the data here.
Keep reading to find out more about our top 15 best small towns in Wisconsin.
Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, we crunched the numbers, and it turns out, these 15 small towns in Wisconsin are the best, in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
If you’re curious, here are the worst small towns in Wisconsin:
- Little Round Lake
- Grantsburg
- Cornell
For more wisconsin reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Wisconsin
- Safest Places In Wisconsin
- Worst Places To Live In Wisconsin