Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
On schools it is strong: its schools rank ahead of 85% of Wisconsin towns. It is strong on incomes as well: the median household earns $110K. Homes run about $366K for a typical one, 4.7 times the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. The overall grade comes out at A+, 14th of 357 in Wisconsin. Set against the rest, it does better than 97% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Joseph P. Marx Woods Nature Preserve, at 135 acres. 95% of households live in a home they own in Hartford, above both the Wisconsin town median (74%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%).
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · OpenStreetMap.
Where Hartford beats most towns.
Where Hartford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Hartford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,343 in 1880, a low of 1,296 in 1890, 15,626 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1904 and 3 maps from 1904 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hartford, 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 Hartford.
Hartford owes part of its health edge to its incomes, has more than doubled its jobs in ten years and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
Households in Hartford have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2011. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage locally than in 93% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Hartford break down as 33% from inland flooding and 31% from cold waves. The town has had 2 paid flood insurance claims since 2010.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trails total 11 miles in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Joseph P. Marx Woods Nature Preserve, at 135 acres.
| Hartford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kettle Moraine State Forest- Pike Lake Unit | 6.7 mi | 970 |
| 2. Joseph P. Marx Woods Nature Preserve | — | 135 |
| 3. Hartford Town Hall Park | — | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 414 in 2013 to 862.
Just 2% of Hartford’s working residents have a job in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 448, to 862. The median commute is under 18 miles. Hartford: 5.6% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Hartford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $110,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Hartford, 24% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (38% statewide). The town’s age of the median resident comes in at 46 years.
| Hartford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 21% | 22% |
42% women, 58% men
About 138 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.5 points). Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Hartford | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.8% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.9% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.8% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.5% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.2% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,400, single groups can be off by several points
Against the 7,100 U.S. towns with household incomes like Hartford’s, it is less healthy than 56%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
For adults in Hartford, the share who binge drink is 21%. Among adults locally, 30% feel lonely and 34% sleep under 7 hours.
| Hartford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 10% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hartford | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.9% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 10.6°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 79% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.4°.
About 36 inches of snow falls in a winter. The typical July afternoon high for Hartford comes to 81°F.
| Hartford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 11°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Hartford's reported crime rate is well below Wisconsin's. No violent crimes were reported in 2023. Police in Hartford reported no violent crime.
| Hartford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 8.9 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Hartford; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Hartford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
11 notable people were born in Hartford.
City in Washington County, Wisconsin
Hartford is a city in Washington and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,000. All of this population resided in Washington County; the portion of the city in Dodge County consists of only industrial and commercial parcels. Located approximately 38 miles (61 km) northwest of downtown Milwaukee and 22 miles (35 km) from city limits, Hartford is located on the outer edge of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Hartford.
At #14 in WI, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Addison (A+) comes closest.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford | #14 | A+ | B+ | — | A | B+ |
| Hartford | #218 | B | C | B | B | B+ |
| Slinger | #48 | A | C+ | B+ | A | A− |
| Erin | #215 | B | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Rubicon | — | — | C | — | B+ | B− |
| Addison | #22 | A+ | B+ | — | A | B+ |
| Polk | #70 | A | C | — | A | A− |
Rubicon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Hartford, Erin, Rubicon, Addison and Polk report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hartford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Hartford grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #14 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B+ for health and A for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
11 notable people were born here, including Quinn Meinerz and Samuel S. Barney.