Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Greendale grades A− overall, ranked 101st of 357 in Wisconsin. It has 6 miles of trail. The median household earns $95K and residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $384K for a typical one and 4.9 times the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. 23% of the land in Greendale is conserved, against 3.8% in Wisconsin’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Greendale has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Greendale Historic District and Jeremiah Curtin House.
Where Greendale beats most towns.
22.6% of the town is conserved land, across 16 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Greendale is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Greendale Historic District is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,527 in 1940, 14,854 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1846 and 4 maps from 1891 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Greendale. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
Big draw40 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
9 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
8 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
8 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
8 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of WisconsinFiserv Forum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Milwaukee Art Museum: Michael Hicks (Mulad), CC BY 2.0 · UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena: Shadowlink1014, Public domain · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us · Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Greendale, 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 Greendale.
Greendale is one of Wisconsin’s best towns for the outdoors, is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #2 of 362 in Wisconsin.
Root River Parkway, at 743 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Greendale: 16, covering 1,137 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mangan Woods | 1.4 mi | 97 |
| 2. Root River Parkway | 1.1 mi | 743 |
| 3. Dale Creek Parkway | 0.8 mi | 47 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $384K.
The Greendale School District runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Greendale High, with 882 students. Three of its 8 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greendale MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 617 | B |
| Greendale HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 882 | B+ |
| College Park ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 273 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
On expected storm and flood damage, Greendale sits below 89% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 52% come from cold waves and 28% from inland flooding. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1997: 6.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among adults in Greendale, 11% smoke cigarettes. The share of adults in Greendale who report frequent mental distress is 14%, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 17%. The town does better than the Wisconsin average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 2.
| Greendale | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Greendale | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 12.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7% | 9.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Half of commuters travel less than 8 miles. The top destinations are Milwaukee (28%), Wauwatosa (6%) and West Allis (4%). 15% of Greendale workers do their job from home.
| Greendale | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 15% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.4% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Mt Mary College weather station, 9 miles away, records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 80% 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 14°.
Greendale’s January low is 14°F.
| Greendale | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 14°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 50% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 201 to 141 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Greendale’s rate of thefts and burglaries stands at 9.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Greendale | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.3 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median property tax bill is $6,010, against $3,792 across Wisconsin, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Homes sold in Greendale spent a median 32 days on the market. Home values are up 5.4% over the year to September 2026. Also worth knowing: the share of households in Greendale who own their home: 67%.
| Greendale | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,252 a month | $1,076 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
15 within 15 miles of the center of Greendale
About 2 of every 100 Greendale residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
Where Greendale’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Greendale on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Greendale.
Village in Wisconsin, United States
Greendale is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,854 at the 2020 census. Greendale is located southwest of Milwaukee and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. A planned community, it was established by the US government during the Great Depression.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Greendale.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greendale | #101 | A− | C− | B | A− | A− |
| Greenfield | #258 | B− | C− | C | B− | A− |
| Franklin | #113 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A− |
| Hales Corners | #54 | A | C− | B+ | A− | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Greendale grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #101 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Ariana Hilborn and Luke Eisner.
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