Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Today 4,343 people live in this town, first incorporated in 1896.
Trash day: look up yoursGrafton’s grades pull in different directions. Incomes are its strong suit: the median household earns $87K. A typical home there costs about $497K, 6.4 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. The catch is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than just over three quarters of U.S. towns. Overall, that makes an A, good for 57th of 357 in Wisconsin. It comes out better than 90% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve, 74 acres with 2.7 miles of trail.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · OpenStreetMap.
Where Grafton beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Grafton | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.8% | 9.9% |
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 24 old photos and papers going back to 1855 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
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 has less tooth loss than most of Wisconsin, has added a third more jobs in ten years and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
In Grafton, the concentration of trails is 0.6 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in Wisconsin’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Trails total 11 miles in 6 parks and preserves.
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.4% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve | 2.7 mi | 74 |
| 2. Blue Wing Waterfowl Production Area | — | 53 |
| 3. Ulao Waterfowl Production Area | 0.2 mi | 43 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Wisconsin is tooth loss: 5.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide.
The share of adults in Grafton who report frequent physical distress is 11%, below both the Wisconsin town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). Among 357 Wisconsin towns, just 9 have a lower share of adults who have obesity than Grafton. Also worth knowing: for adults locally, the share who sleep under 7 hours is 29%. Against the Wisconsin average, Grafton comes out ahead on 18 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1.
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Grafton | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 12.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Grafton after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2018. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 44% come from inland flooding and 33% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 10% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (19% statewide). Among adults 25 and older in Grafton, 42% hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 21% | 22% |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.2 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Grafton | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.2% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 19.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.2% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.7% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.6% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.1% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.2% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.6% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.8% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
January nights average 13.9°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 98% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 80.4°.
Grafton’s July high stands at 80°F. 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
Jobs based here grew from 1,155 in 2013 to 1,661.
In Grafton, 2.9% of residents live below the poverty line. This Wisconsin town had 1,661 jobs in 2023, up 506 from 2013. Half commute less than 15 miles. The top destinations are Milwaukee (20%), Grafton (11%) and Mequon (8%).
| Grafton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Grafton. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
22 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
22 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
22 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
22 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
16 mi Park & preserveKettle Moraine State ForestFiserv 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 · Kettle Moraine State Forest: self, CC BY-SA 2.5
1 within 15 miles of the center of Grafton
About 2 of every 100 Grafton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
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)
6 towns share a border with Grafton.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton | #57 | A | C | — | A | A |
| Grafton | #51 | A | C− | B+ | A | A |
| Port Washington | #6 | A+ | C+ | A | A | A− |
| Cedarburg | #10 | A+ | C− | A | A+ | A |
| Cedarburg | #105 | A− | D | — | A+ | A |
| Saukville | #159 | B+ | C | B− | A | B+ |
| Port Washington | — | — | C | — | A | B+ |
Port Washington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Grafton, Cedarburg and Port Washington report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Grafton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Grafton grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #57 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
Grafton was incorporated in 1896. 2 notable people were born here, including Barbara M. Joosse and Ralph Zaun.
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