Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,258, settled in 1860. 2.6 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Baileys Harbor’s best subject grades are an A for schools, an A+ for civic life, and an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a D for cost of living. 37% of residents are 65 or older in Baileys Harbor, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 13 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score lower on cost of living. Baileys Harbor is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 3 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns do better. Baileys Harbor has 9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cana Island Lighthouse and Baileys Harbor Range Light. Baileys Harbor has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Baileys Harbor beats most towns.
The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Baileys Harbor is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Baileys Harbor, 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 Baileys Harbor.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 94% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Baileys Harbor home is worth about $506,000, up 3.8% in a year, 50% above the Wisconsin typical home. Baileys Harbor’s median rent is $1,293 a month, against $1,078 a month in Wisconsin’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns.
| Baileys Harbor | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 78% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,293 a month | $1,078 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Baileys Harbor for work: only 5% work in town. The average trip to work in Baileys Harbor is 15 minutes. Since 2013, Baileys Harbor has added 94 jobs, to 300 in 2023.
| Baileys Harbor | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.3% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
12% of adults report frequent mental distress in Baileys Harbor. Only 10 of the 358 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Baileys Harbor. 16% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Baileys Harbor.
| Baileys Harbor | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Baileys Harbor | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.8% | 9.7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 12.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.5% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Baileys Harbor’s July high is 77°F. Baileys Harbor has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7.4 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Mud Lake Wildlife Area, at 2,101 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Toft Point Natural Area | 2.2 mi | 721 |
| 2. Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve | 1.6 mi | 492 |
| 3. The Ridges Sanctuary | 0.9 mi | 1,494 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Baileys Harbor; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Baileys Harbor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
1,022 counted in 2010 and 1,223 in 2020; an estimated 1,258 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
9 places in Baileys Harbor on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Baileys Harbor is a town in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,223 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Peninsula Center is located in the town. The census-designated place of Baileys Harbor is also located with the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2.6 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including Lloyd Wasserbach and Jessie Kalmbach Chase.
