Cross Plains Water Reservoir, 2009
Cross Plains’s story
106 years in pictures
Census counts: 42 in 1880, 4,104 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 3 maps from 1907 on.
- 1920Cross Plains is settled
Cross PlainsWI
Trash day: Thursday5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,453
2025 Census estimate · −2.8% since 2020
Median home value
$571K
Census ACS
Household income
$162K
median
Median age
48.6
years
Jobs based here
122
A commuter town
Is Cross Plains a good place to live?
The best of Cross Plains’ subject grades are an A+ for incomes and an A for health and schools; the weakest is a C for walkability. Cross Plains’ median household income is $162,000, above both the Wisconsin town median ($87,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Only 35 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score higher on incomes. State Ice Age Trail Area, at 193 acres with 2.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Cross Plains has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Cross Plains stand out
Where Cross Plains beats most towns.
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
20 better12 too close to call0 worse
| Widest gap | Cross Plains | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 12.1% |
HealthA
Healthier than 90% of U.S. towns
Less healthyHealthier
CDC PLACES 2025 estimates.
0historic places
History
Settled in 1920
A long history
A history going back 106 years.
Small town
1,453 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Cross PlainsMiddletonBerryVermontSpringdaleCross Plains
How Cross Plains grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Cross Plains is from typical.
Jobs & incomeA+Open →HealthUniversity of WI Hospitals & Clinics Authority 11.8 miles awayAOpen →SchoolsBeat 88% of Wisconsin districts on tests and graduationAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.6 of 20; 1.1% of households have no car; 2.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $571K, 6.4 years of the Madison metro’s $89K median household incomeC+Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 27% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors7% conserved landB+Open →History1 notable person born hereC−Open →Civic life0.2 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 30 attractions →Camp Randall Stadium and 22 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cross Plains. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Stadium & arenaCamp Randall Stadium
13 mi Stadium & arenaKohl Center
25 mi Park & preserveIce Age Trail
40 mi Canyon & gorgeDells of the Wisconsin River
10 mi State parkBlue Mound State Park
23 mi State parkDevil's Lake State ParkSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Camp Randall Stadium: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Kohl Center: Pbrown111 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Ice Age Trail: MDuchek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dells of the Wisconsin River: atramos, CC BY 2.0 · Blue Mound State Park: Mailseth at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Devil's Lake State Park: CrispAir at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0
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Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Cross Plains: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cross Plains, and how to reach them.
PowerWisconsin Power & Light18.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCross Plains WaterworksNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet8 providers39% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpThursdayTrash dayTown site
SchoolsMount Horeb Area School DistrictMiddleton-Cross Plains School DistrictWisconsin Heights School District3 districts serve Cross Plains; 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 Cross Plains ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Apr 2026
ZIP codes53528, 53572, 53593, 5351553528 73% · 53572 19% · 53593 5% · 53515 4%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Cross Plains.
HealthA
A smaller share of adults in Cross Plains sleep under 7 hours than in the typical Wisconsin or U.S. town
28% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Cross Plains, against 32% in Wisconsin’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 21% of Cross Plains adults binge drink. Cross Plains beats the Wisconsin average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
90%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Cross Plains | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
20 better12 too close to call0 worse
| What stands out | Cross Plains | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 12.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 9.9% |
Madison VA Medical Center
11.8 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A+
Most of Cross Plains’ workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Cross Plains for work: only 1% work in town. Jobs based in Cross Plains grew to 122 in 2023, 28 more than in 2013. 2.8% of residents live below the poverty line in Cross Plains.
1%work in town
| Cross Plains | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Cross Plains1%
Madison35%
Middleton8%
Cross Plains5%
Sauk City4%
13 mi
median commute distance
122
jobs based in Cross Plains
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Cross Plains
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities.
27risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
6
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
In Cross Plains, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Cross Plains has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 11° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
39″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter14–30°
Spring35–57°
Summer59–80°
Fall39–59°
Oct 15
typical first frost
Apr 28
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7.1%conserved
| Cross Plains | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.1% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
7.1%
conserved · 1,582 of 22,175 acres
17 mi
of trails · 0.5 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cross Plains State Park | 4.3 mi | 151 |
| 2. Glacial Passage Area | 3.1 mi | 152 |
| 3. State Ice Age Trail Area | 2.8 mi | 193 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Cross Plains
19pages on Cross Plains
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Cross Plains
Edgewood CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Madison12.2 mi$35,860 tuitionUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonUniversity or college · Public · Madison13.1 mi$11,603 in-state tuition
About 5 of every 100 Cross Plains residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Cross Plains for work
Where Cross Plains’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
122jobs based in Cross Plains
1%of working residents work in town
13 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Cross Plains
Village in Wisconsin, United States
Cross Plains is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,104 at the 2020 census. The village is located partially within the Town of Cross Plains. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1920
- Area
- 1.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 938 ft
- ZIP code
- 53528
Questions about Cross Plains
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Cross Plains, 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+.