Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Appleton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $305K, 3.5 years of the Appleton metro’s $86K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 168th of 357 in Wisconsin. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 21 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Appleton Lock 4 Historic District and Appleton Locks 1-3 Historic District. 25% of working residents work locally in Appleton, above both the Wisconsin town median (8.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Appleton is home to Lawrence University.
Where Appleton beats most towns.
Main Hall, Lawrence University
Census counts: 2,345 in 1860, 75,644 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1853 and 4 maps from 1955 on.
21 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Appleton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Appleton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Appleton.
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Appleton than in 95% of U.S. communities. Just over a third of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 32%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Appleton after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2026.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Three of its 44 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Its public schools are run by the Appleton Area School District. The 6 public schools in Appleton teach 2,721 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 929 | C |
| North HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,635 | B− |
| Odyssey-MagellanTop results in townGrades 2–8 | Grades 2–8 | 214 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Across 40 parks and preserves: 12 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Plamann County Park, at 248 acres. Parks and preserves in Appleton: 40, covering 999 acres.
| Appleton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bruce B. Purdy Nature Preserve | 2.8 mi | 145 |
| 2. Appleton Memorial Park | 1.7 mi | 146 |
| 3. Plamann County Park | 0.8 mi | 248 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Appleton: 21% of adults binge drink. 32% of adults here have high blood pressure; 10% have diabetes.
| Appleton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Appleton | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.9% | 3.4% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.7% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one worker in four stays in Appleton for work. For Appleton, the average trip to work is 19 minutes. The top destinations are Grand Chute (11%), Neenah (6%) and Fox Crossing (6%).
| Appleton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.3% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For households in Appleton, the share who own their home is 67%. Typical home values rose 5.3% in the year to September 2026. A home in Appleton typically sold within 37 days of listing.
| Appleton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 74% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 39% | 39% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,030 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 21.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 74% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,239 to 861 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Appleton’s level of violent crime is 1.9 per 1,000 residents. The rate of thefts and burglaries for Appleton comes to 9.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Appleton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.6 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In Appleton, 38% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Wisconsin average. The age of the median resident here is 37.5 years.
| Appleton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.5 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 21% | 22% |
50.2% women, 49.8% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.9 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.5, men 36.7.
| Appleton | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.6% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.5% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.9% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.5% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.7% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Appleton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaLambeau Field
18 mi LakeLake Winnebago
22 mi Stadium & arenaResch Center
22 mi MuseumNational Railroad Museum
39 mi MuseumUSS Cobia
in town MuseumThe History Museum at the CastleLambeau Field: JL1Row, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Winnebago: self, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Resch Center: User Royalbroil on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · National Railroad Museum: Dual Freq, CC BY 3.0 · USS Cobia: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · The History Museum at the Castle: Sirala at English Wikipedia, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Appleton
About 6 of every 100 Appleton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
21 places in Appleton on the National Register of Historic Places.
50 notable people were born in Appleton.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Appleton (Menominee: Ahkōnemeh) is a city, and the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet and Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River north of Lake Winnebago, it is 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles (160 km) north of Milwaukee. The city had a population of 75,644 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth-most populous city in Wisconsin. The Appleton metropolitan statistical area had 243,147 residents. Appleton is part of the broader Fox Cities region. Appleton was founded in the mid-19th century and developed as an industrial and educational center; Lawrence University was established in 1847. Its economy …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Appleton.
Harrison next door grades higher for schools (A− to Appleton’s C) and lower for cost of living (C to B+).
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appleton | #168 | B+ | B+ | C+ | C | B+ |
| Grand Chute | #267 | B− | C+ | D | C | A− |
| Harrison · Harrison | #73 | A | C | — | A− | A |
| Freedom | #26 | A | B+ | — | B | A− |
| Fox Crossing | #120 | A− | C+ | A− | A− | B |
| Menasha | #266 | B− | B | B | C+ | C+ |
| Center | #38 | A | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Buchanan | #107 | A− | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
Harrison, Freedom, Center and Buchanan report no FBI crime data of their own. Harrison and Harrison are one community, graded once. Compare Appleton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Appleton grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #168 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B+ for health, C+ for safety and C for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
50 notable people were born here, including Willem Dafoe and Esmir Bajraktarević.
