ATC Power Lines - panoramio (3), 2012
Buena Vista’s story
Buena Vista in pictures
The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 3 maps from 1905 on.
Explore the history →Buena VistaWI
With 1,794 residents, it is a town in Wisconsin.
Population
1,794
2025 Census estimate · −0.4% since 2020
Median home value
$195K
Census ACS
Household income
$73K
median
Median age
42.2
years
Jobs based here
158
A commuter town
Is Buena Vista a good place to live?
Buena Vista’s weakest subject grade is a C− for walkability. On hazard risk, just 39 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. 15% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Buena Vista, against 32% in Wisconsin’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, at 2,065 acres. Buena Vista has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How Buena Vista grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Buena Vista is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 3.9 of 20; 2% of households have no car; 1.6% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →Hazard riskInland flooding tops the listCOpen →Jobs & incomeBased on what households earn, poverty and workCOpen →SchoolsBehind 67% of Wisconsin districts on tests and graduationCOpen →HealthRichland Hospital 9.8 miles awayCOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $195K, 2.9 years of the county’s $66K median household incomeC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors5% conserved landB−Open →HistoryLess recorded history than most townsC+Open →Civic life3.4 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Buena Vista for work
Where Buena Vista’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
158jobs based in Buena Vista
2%of working residents work in town
23 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Buena Vista.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
Buena Vista has 0.2 jobs per working resident, so most workers leave town for work
2%work in town
Buena Vista: 2.3% of working residents work locally. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 77, to 158. The top destinations are Richland Center (18%), Madison (10%) and Spring Green (9%). The typical household income in the town is $73,000.
| Buena Vista | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Buena Vista2%
Richland Center18%
Madison10%
Spring Green9%
Muscoda3%
23 mi
median commute distance
158
jobs based in Buena Vista
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthC
Health in Buena Vista trails 66% of U.S. towns
34%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
For adults in Buena Vista, the share who binge drink is 18%. Two figures for adults locally: 17% smoke cigarettes, 13% have diabetes.
| Buena Vista | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
0 better21 too close to call11 worse
| What stands out | Buena Vista | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.3% | 9.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 17% | 13.6% |
Richland Hospital
9.8 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers: that is Buena Vista’s year
40″snow a winter
For Buena Vista, the peak summer temperature is 83°F.
Typical low → high °F
Winter13–31°
Spring35–58°
Summer59–81°
Fall39–60°
Oct 9
typical first frost
Apr 30
typical last frost
+1.3°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C
Top of a high hazard risk in Buena Vista: inland flooding
66risk score of 100
Expected losses in Buena Vista break down as 58% from inland flooding and 17% from cold waves. On expected storm and flood damage, Buena Vista sits above 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
OutdoorsB−
4.7% of Buena Vista is conserved land
4.7%conserved
Walkers can cover 13 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Buena Vista: 2, covering 2,420 acres. Also worth knowing: the town’s concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Buena Vista | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
4.7%
conserved · 1,260 of 26,803 acres
13 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gotham Jack Pine Barrens State Natural Area | 1.8 mi | 355 |
| 2. Lower Wisconsin State Riverway | 0.6 mi | 2,065 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Buena Vista
18pages on Buena Vista
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Buena Vista: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Buena Vista, and how to reach them.
PowerWisconsin Power & Light18.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSextonville WaterworksNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers84% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Buena Vista’s trash rules yet
SchoolsRiver Valley School DistrictRichland School District2 districts serve Buena Vista; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Wisconsin you can register online until 20 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 20 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereTown of Buena Vista ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP codes53556, 53581, 53540, 5358453556 76% · 53581 13% · 53540 7% · 53584 3%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Buena Vista; the nearest are
Southwest Wisconsin Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · Fennimore26.8 mi$4,904 in-state tuitionUniversity of Wisconsin-PlattevilleUniversity or college · Public · Platteville36.9 mi$8,644 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Buena Vista residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
About Buena Vista
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Buena Vista is a town in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,807 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Gotham, and Sextonville are located within the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 42 sq mi
- Elevation
- 807 ft
- Area code
- 608
Buena Vista’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Buena Vista.
ClydeLone RockPulaskiOrionSpring GreenBear CreekIthacaBuena Vista
How the neighbors grade
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista | — | — | C+ | — | C | C |
| Clyde | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lone Rock | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pulaski | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Orion | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Spring Green | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bear Creek | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ithaca | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Buena Vista has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Buena Vista reports no FBI crime data of its own. Clyde, Lone Rock, Pulaski, Orion, Spring Green, Bear Creek and Ithaca aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Buena Vista with a neighbor →
Questions about Buena Vista
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Buena Vista, WI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
Buena Vista is in here
Say something about Buena Vista.
Ask a question, answer one, post a photo or an event. Free, and the parts only a neighbor would know are the parts worth reading.