Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Eau Claire is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 264th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: residents are healthier than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: it reports more crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, including 123 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. A typical home there costs about $318K, 4.3 years of the Eau Claire metro’s $75K median household income. 50% of working residents work locally in Eau Claire, above both Wisconsin’s towns (8.2%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Pearl and Eva Chambers House and Cobblestone House. On walkability, just 55 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better.
Where Eau Claire beats most towns.
Its 64 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Wisconsin towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,293 in 1870, 69,421 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 2 maps from 1972 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Eau Claire is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Eau Claire, 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 Eau Claire.
Eau Claire draws workers from Altoona and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
51 miles of trail in 50 parks and preserves. The trail density in Eau Claire is 1.4 miles per square mile. Riverview Park, at 451 acres with 4.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Northwest Community Park | 8.5 mi | 118 |
| 2. Lowes Creek County Park | 7.7 mi | 138 |
| 3. Riverview Park | 4.9 mi | 451 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Eau Claire Area School District. Three of its 33 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeLong MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 893 | B− |
| North HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,567 | B |
| Memorial HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,558 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
44,475 jobs are based in Eau Claire, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Eau Claire’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Union (5%), Chippewa Falls (5%) and Altoona (4%). 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Eau Claire.
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 10,256 U.S. towns with household incomes like Eau Claire’s, it is healthier than 93%, so its A− isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of Eau Claire adults have obesity. Among 357 Wisconsin towns, just 1 have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Eau Claire. 27% of Eau Claire adults have high blood pressure.
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 38% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 78% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Eau Claire | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.5% | 11.4% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.6% | 3.4% |
| More adults with depression | 27% | 23.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Adults 18 to 34 are 35% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (38% statewide). Eau Claire has grown 4.4% since 2020, to 72,465 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Wisconsin.
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.9 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
51.8% women, 48.2% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 32.7, men 33.0.
| Eau Claire | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 19.9% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.5% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.7% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.5% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.1% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.6% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Eau Claire Rgnl Ap weather station records that about 10 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 86% of Wisconsin places with climate records. July afternoons average 82°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 78% of Wisconsin places with climate records; January nights average 5.4°.
Eau Claire has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 55 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 5°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 25.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 84% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
Eau Claire reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 64% report less.
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.7 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Eau Claire.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Eau Claire home is worth about $318,000, up 2.2% in a year, 6% below the Wisconsin typical home.
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 74% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 41% | 39% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,045 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Eau Claire
About 13 of every 100 Eau Claire residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
2 colleges in town.
64 places in Eau Claire on the National Register of Historic Places.
56 notable people were born in Eau Claire.
City and county seat of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
Eau Claire ( oh-KLAIR; French: [o klɛʁ] lit. 'clear water') is a city in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County. It is the seventh-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 69,421 at the 2020 census. As of 2026 population signs show an increase to 74,309 residents. The Eau Claire metropolitan area, known locally as the Chippewa Valley, has approximately 176,000 residents. Eau Claire is at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers on traditional Ojibwe, Dakota, and Ho-Chunk land. The area's first permanent European American settlers arrived in 1845, and Eau Claire was incorporated as a city in 1872. T…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Eau Claire.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eau Claire | #264 | B− | C+ | C+ | B− | A− |
| Washington | #164 | B+ | C+ | — | B− | A− |
| Union | #195 | B+ | B− | — | B− | B+ |
| Seymour | #220 | B | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Altoona | #224 | B | C+ | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Lake Hallie | #273 | B− | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Wheaton | #161 | B+ | B− | — | B− | B |
| Brunswick | — | — | C− | — | B− | A− |
Brunswick has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Washington, Union, Seymour, Lake Hallie, Wheaton and Brunswick report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Eau Claire with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Eau Claire grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #264 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A− for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools.
Wisconsin has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Eau Claire sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
56 notable people were born here, including Roderick Strong and Justin Vernon.
