Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 13,389, settled in 1846. 70% more nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Trash day: look up yoursFor most people who can afford it, yes. Grafton grades A overall, 51st of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin. The median household earns $90K. Its schools outperform 90% of the state's and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 86% of the country. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $463K for a typical one and 5.9 times the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. Grafton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns. 47% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Grafton, above both the Wisconsin town median (32%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Grafton has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cedarburg Woolen Co. Worsted Mill and Grafton Flour Mill.
Where Grafton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Kennedy Elementary | PK–5 | 507 |
| Woodview Elementary | PK–5 | 506 |
| St. Paul Lutheran School | PK–8 | 392 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Grafton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 415 in 1880, 12,094 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1855 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Grafton. Close and well known come first.
19 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
20 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
20 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
20 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
20 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
21 mi GardenMitchell Park Horticultural ConservatoryFiserv 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 · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us · Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory: Sulfur (Talk / contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Grafton, 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 Grafton.
Grafton trades workers with Milwaukee and other neighbors, has less tooth loss than most of Wisconsin and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $463K.
Its public schools are run by the Grafton School District. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennedy ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 507 | A+ |
| Grafton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 727 | A− |
| Woodview ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 506 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Wisconsin is tooth loss: 5.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide.
27% of Grafton adults feel lonely. Grafton beats the Wisconsin average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 14% of Grafton adults report frequent mental distress.
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Grafton | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.4% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 12.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 2019, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Grafton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
61% of households own their home in Grafton. Typical home values rose 6% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Grafton is $1,310 a month.
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,310 a month | $1,076 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 134 to 81 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
Grafton’s violent crime rate is 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Grafton | 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) | 5.7 per 1,000 residents | 6.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.9 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Grafton Centennial Park, at 25 acres.
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grafton Centennial Park | 0.8 mi | 25 |
| 2. Heritage Settlement Park | 0.7 mi | 19 |
| 3. Lime Kiln Park | — | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 14.3°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 99% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 80.3°.
Grafton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 80°F | 82°F | 85°F |
| January low | 14°F | 11°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Grafton has about as many jobs (6,746) as working residents, but only 766 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Grafton for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2013, Grafton has added 573 jobs, to 6,746 in 2023. The top destinations are Milwaukee (18%), Mequon (7%) and Cedarburg (7%).
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Grafton
About 6 of every 100 Grafton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
3 places in Grafton on the National Register of Historic Places.
Village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Grafton is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located approximately 20 miles (32 km) north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburban community in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The village incorporated in 1896, and at the time of the 2020 census the population was 12,094. Like many of Ozaukee County's cities and villages, the Village of Grafton has rural roots and began as a mill town. The German and Irish immigrants who settled in Grafton in the 1840s utilized the Milwaukee River as a source of hydropower for gristmills and woolen mills. Manufacturing grew and prospered in the village in the 20th century, including the Paramount Records st…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Grafton.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton | #51 | A | C− | B+ | A | A |
| Grafton | #57 | A | C | — | A | A |
| Cedarburg | #105 | A− | D | — | A+ | A |
| Cedarburg | #10 | A+ | C− | A | A+ | A |
Grafton and Cedarburg report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Grafton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Grafton grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #51 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 C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
2 notable people were born here, including Barbara M. Joosse and Ralph Zaun.
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