Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
64% more nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Black River Falls gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $235K for a typical one, or 3.5 years of the county’s $68K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 310th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 79% of the state's. On the plus side, 3% of its land is conserved. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. 29% of working residents work locally in Black River Falls, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 8.2% and U.S. towns at 8%. Black River Falls's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 97% of U.S. towns. On history, just 60 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better.
Where Black River Falls beats most towns.
Union High SchoolWhere Black River Falls’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Black River Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 570 in 1860, 3,523 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1924 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Black River Falls, 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 Black River Falls.
Black River Falls trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Brockway and beyond and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
The trail density in Black River Falls is 1.0 miles per square mile. 4.1 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Lunda Park, at 34 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lunda Park | 0.8 mi | 34 |
| 2. Jackson County Fair Park | — | 28 |
| 3. Marks Field | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Black River Falls School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Creek ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 436 | C |
| Black River Falls HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 500 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
3,145 jobs are based in Black River Falls, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Black River Falls’s working residents works in town. Black River Falls’ average trip to work is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Black River Falls grew to 3,145 in 2023, 181 more than in 2013.
| Black River Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.9% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes are within reach (about $235K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles.
Among 340 Wisconsin towns, just 2 have a lower median rent than Black River Falls. Typical home values rose 8.1% in the year to September 2026.
| Black River Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $543 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its C for health tops all 3 graded neighbors; Albion (C−) comes closest.
Black River Falls beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 31% of adults get no exercise outside work in Black River Falls.
| Black River Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Black River Falls | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18% | 9.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6.5% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.4% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 81.9°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 75% of Wisconsin places with climate records; January nights average 6.4°.
Black River Falls has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 41 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Black River Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 6°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Black River Falls since 1993.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Black River Falls's reported crime rate is well above Wisconsin's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2022.
| Black River Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 25.5 per 1,000 residents | 9.2 | 14.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.9 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Black River Falls; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Black River Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
4 places in Black River Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Black River Falls.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Black River Falls is a city in Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,523 at the 2020 census. It is located along the Black River and home to the headquarters of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Black River Falls.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black River Falls | #310 | C+ | B+ | — | C− | C |
| Adams | — | — | C | — | C− | C− |
| Brockway | #353 | D | B | — | C− | C− |
| Albion | — | — | B− | — | C− | C− |
Adams and Albion have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Black River Falls, Adams, Brockway and Albion report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Black River Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Black River Falls grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #310 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
5 notable people were born here, including Hugh H. Price and Ernie Rudolph.
