The 10 Best Counties To Live In Wisconsin For 2024


The best counties in Wisconsin are Ozaukee County and Waukesha County for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

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.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary


Ozaukee County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Wisconsin. And you should avoid Forest County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Wisconsin. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Wisconsin and the cheapest places to live in Wisconsin.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Counties To Live In Wisconsin For 2024

1. Ozaukee County

Belgium, WI

Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was Royalbroil at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 2.5

Biggest Place: Mequon
Population: 91,745
Median Income: $92,258 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $427,342 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.6% (17th best)
More on Ozaukee CountyData

2. Waukesha County

Brookfield, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Merenta | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Waukesha
Population: 407,290
Median Income: $101,639 (best)
Median Home Price: $427,935 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.6% (15th best)
More on Waukesha CountyData

3. St. Croix County

Baldwin, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Jonathunder | GFDL 1.2

Biggest Place: River Falls
Population: 93,752
Median Income: $97,950 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $401,573 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.2% (5th best)
More on St. Croix CountyData

4. Calumet County

Appleton, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Thor Rudebeck | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Appleton
Population: 52,361
Median Income: $84,151 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $328,990 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.3% (8th best)
More on Calumet CountyData

5. Washington County

Hartford, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Shadowe | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Milwaukee
Population: 136,842
Median Income: $91,915 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $367,783 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (3best)
More on Washington CountyData

6. Iowa County

Dodgeville, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Dodgeville
Population: 23,766
Median Income: $79,226 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $279,239 (24th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.4% (11th best)
More on Iowa CountyData

7. Kewaunee County

Algoma, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Rand | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Algoma
Population: 20,570
Median Income: $77,610 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $266,611 (29th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.0% (best)
More on Kewaunee CountyData

8. Pierce County

Ellsworth, WI

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: River Falls
Population: 42,187
Median Income: $82,996 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $332,509 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.9% (24th best)
More on Pierce CountyData

9. Dane County

Belleville, WI

Source: Wikipedia User James Steakley | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Madison
Population: 559,891
Median Income: $84,297 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $401,714 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.3% (7th best)
More on Dane CountyData

10. Outagamie County

Appleton, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Thor Rudebeck | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Appleton
Population: 190,611
Median Income: $78,705 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $291,089 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (32nd best)
More on Outagamie CountyData

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 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Wisconsin.

Read on to see why Ozaukee County is the best county, while Forest County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Wisconsin.

Summary: The Best Counties In Wisconsin To Call Home For 2024

Living in Wisconsin can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Wisconsin are Ozaukee County, Waukesha County, St. Croix County, Calumet County, Washington County, Iowa County, Kewaunee County, Pierce County, Dane County, and Outagamie 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.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Wisconsin according to the data:

  1. Forest County
  2. Adams County
  3. Clark County

For more Wisconsin reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Wisconsin

Rank County Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Ozaukee County 91,745 $92,258 $427,342
2 Waukesha County 407,290 $101,639 $427,935
3 St. Croix County 93,752 $97,950 $401,573
4 Calumet County 52,361 $84,151 $328,990
5 Washington County 136,842 $91,915 $367,783
6 Iowa County 23,766 $79,226 $279,239
7 Kewaunee County 20,570 $77,610 $266,611
8 Pierce County 42,187 $82,996 $332,509
9 Dane County 559,891 $84,297 $401,714
10 Outagamie County 190,611 $78,705 $291,089
11 Columbia County 58,272 $79,271 $307,293
12 Jefferson County 85,932 $77,018 $309,567
13 Oneida County 37,799 $66,111 $281,029
14 Door County 30,038 $68,257 $369,114
15 Sheboygan County 117,741 $68,969 $262,551
16 Green County 37,066 $76,080 $275,440
17 Oconto County 39,048 $73,611 $247,447
18 Winnebago County 171,197 $70,041 $258,963
19 Walworth County 105,127 $75,172 $351,321
20 Fond Du Lac County 104,027 $70,368 $242,766
21 La Crosse County 120,216 $68,731 $279,658
22 Brown County 268,393 $74,066 $297,999
23 Dodge County 89,032 $71,747 $261,750
24 Pepin County 7,363 $70,833 $237,793
25 Portage County 70,281 $71,301 $264,122
26 Manitowoc County 81,242 $66,412 $230,474
27 Chippewa County 66,254 $69,815 $280,881
28 Marathon County 137,820 $73,248 $225,761
29 Eau Claire County 105,697 $70,127 $287,798
30 Polk County 45,128 $74,142 $300,639
31 Dunn County 45,221 $69,721 $274,104
32 Sauk County 65,664 $72,930 $295,076
33 Waupaca County 51,822 $69,198 $231,534
34 Trempealeau County 30,679 $68,474 $243,671
35 Vilas County 23,146 $63,726 $376,042
36 Bayfield County 16,214 $67,266 $265,591
37 Buffalo County 13,329 $64,238 $213,912
38 Rock County 163,817 $70,630 $244,966
39 Douglas County 44,092 $64,682 $219,044
40 Shawano County 40,848 $65,493 $218,729
41 Racine County 197,068 $72,658 $259,033
42 Marinette County 41,827 $60,347 $175,836
43 Lincoln County 28,402 $64,314 $203,611
44 Wood County 74,138 $63,273 $195,857
45 Lafayette County 16,716 $69,293 $199,818
46 Kenosha County 168,693 $76,583 $275,006
47 Marquette County 15,619 $59,748 $235,848
48 Iron County 6,136 $55,777 $183,108
49 Monroe County 46,208 $66,451 $227,287
50 Washburn County 16,685 $58,504 $299,328
51 Taylor County 19,979 $61,360 $198,026
52 Barron County 46,683 $59,379 $254,812
53 Green Lake County 19,093 $66,395 $241,962
54 Price County 14,066 $55,822 $181,673
55 Vernon County 30,811 $65,177 $221,385
56 Richland County 17,256 $61,985 $226,679
57 Menominee County 4,279 $62,194 $291,438
58 Crawford County 16,123 $60,823 $186,650
59 Sawyer County 18,057 $57,519 $322,321
60 Grant County 51,842 $63,497 $193,241
61 Burnett County 16,561 $60,466 $276,804
62 Ashland County 16,041 $57,000 $169,833
63 Waushara County 24,672 $61,033 $234,812
64 Rusk County 14,179 $57,473 $183,309
65 Juneau County 26,695 $63,455 $210,819
66 Florence County 4,574 $58,049 $173,588
67 Milwaukee County 933,063 $59,319 $247,529
68 Jackson County 20,958 $64,630 $189,396
69 Langlade County 19,512 $55,091 $181,815
70 Clark County 34,703 $63,187 $180,738
71 Adams County 20,730 $55,223 $206,554
72 Forest County 9,239 $55,552 $194,407
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.