Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 41,448, settled in 1840. Public schools that outperform most of Wisconsin.
Trash day: look up yoursBrookfield is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, ranked 40th of 357 in Wisconsin. The median household earns $130K, its schools outperform 94% of the state's, and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 93% of the country. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $524K for a typical one and 6.7 times the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. 64% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Brookfield, above both Wisconsin’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (29%). Brookfield is home to Herzing University-Brookfield. Only 5 of the 340 Wisconsin towns we compare have a higher midpoint rent than Brookfield.
Where Brookfield beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Burleigh Elementary | PK–5 | 927 |
| Swanson Elementary | PK–5 | 778 |
| Dixon Elementary | PK–5 | 658 |
Where Brookfield’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 Brookfield is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 19,812 in 1960, 41,464 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1843 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brookfield. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
11 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
10 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
10 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
5 mi Zoo & aquariumMilwaukee County Zoo
10 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a yearFiserv Forum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Milwaukee Art Museum: Michael Hicks (Mulad), CC BY 2.0 · UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena: Shadowlink1014, Public domain · Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Milwaukee County Zoo: Awkwafaba, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brookfield, 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 Brookfield.
Brookfield has schools in the top 5% of Wisconsin and draws workers from Milwaukee and beyond, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Wisconsin.
That grade ranks #14 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $524K.
Three of the 13 schools are below, and why each made the list. The Elmbrook School District runs its public schools. The 4 public schools in Brookfield teach 3,004 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burleigh ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 927 | A |
| Brookfield East HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,374 | A |
| Brookfield ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 641 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
40,704 jobs are based in Brookfield, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 21.5% of workers work from home, against 13.1% across Wisconsin.
The share of residents in Brookfield who live below the poverty line: 3.2%. Most working residents leave Brookfield for work: only 12% work in town. The town had 40,704 jobs in 2023, up 4,031 from 2013. Half of commuters travel less than 8 miles.
| Brookfield | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $130,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 22% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Wisconsin is tooth loss: 4.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide.
Among 357 Wisconsin towns, just 8 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Brookfield. 28% of Brookfield adults feel lonely. Also worth knowing: of 32 CDC measures, Brookfield beats the Wisconsin average on 21 and trails it on 1. Two figures for adults in the town: 8.5% smoke cigarettes, 19% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Brookfield | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 24% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Brookfield | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.6% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.2% | 12.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 6.7 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income, the typical home (about $524K) costs more against local pay than in 92% of Wisconsin towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
83% of households are owner-occupiers in Brookfield. Typical home values rose 4.2% in the year to September 2026. Homes sold in Brookfield spent a median 43 days on the market.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
52 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
On expected storm and flood damage, Brookfield sits below 85% of U.S. communities. 52 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1979. Expected losses in Brookfield break down as 49% from inland flooding and 23% from cold waves. Federal aid has come to Brookfield households in 6 declared disasters; the latest was in 2026.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trails run 8.9 miles in 26 parks and preserves. Mitchell Park, at 405 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. For Brookfield, the density of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Brookfield | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.5% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wirth Park | 1.7 mi | 140 |
| 2. Mitchell Park | 1.1 mi | 405 |
| 3. Fox Brook Park | 0.4 mi | 92 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Mt Mary College weather station records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 80% of Wisconsin places with climate records. January nights average 13.2°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 96% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.7°.
The January low in Brookfield is 13°F.
| Brookfield | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 13°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 521 to 353 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 26 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
The violent offense rate for Brookfield comes to 0.6 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime for Brookfield comes to 7.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Brookfield | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.9 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
16 within 15 miles of the center of Brookfield
About 5 of every 100 Brookfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
2 colleges in town.
17 notable people were born in Brookfield.
City in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, U.S.
Brookfield is a city in eastern Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 41,464 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 41,448 in 2025. The city is adjacent to the Town of Brookfield and is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Brookfield.
West Allis next door grades lower for schools (D to Brookfield’s A) and higher for cost of living (B− to D).
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | #40 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
| Brookfield | #146 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Elm Grove | #13 | A+ | D | A | A | A |
| New Berlin | #52 | A | C− | B+ | A | A |
| Butler | — | — | B− | C | A | B− |
| Menomonee Falls | #46 | A | C− | A− | A | A− |
| West Allis | #308 | C+ | B− | C | D | B |
| Wauwatosa | #197 | B | D | C | B | A |
Butler has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Brookfield reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Brookfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Brookfield grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #40 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
17 notable people were born here, including Caroline Ingalls and Douglas Niles.
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