Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Janesville’s weakest subject is cost of living (C−): the typical home is worth about $369K, 4.9 years of the Janesville metro’s $76K median household income. It also trails on walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 69% of U.S. towns. Incomes are its strong suit — the median household earns $103K. The overall grade comes out at C+, 291st of 357 in Wisconsin. Nationally, it does better than 41% of U.S. towns. Only 65 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns score lower on civic life. John and Eleanor Strunk House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Janesville beats most towns.
Where Janesville’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 Janesville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,703 in 1860, 65,615 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1844 and 3 maps from 1891 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Janesville, 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 Janesville.
Janesville has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin; it also trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Janesville once, in 2026. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 26 claims here since 1979. 46% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 22%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Milton School District runs its public schools. Its one school is below. 82 students attend Janesville’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 82 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Among working residents in Janesville, 1.3% work locally, against 8.4% in Wisconsin’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. In Janesville, the mean commuting time is 27 minutes. The top destinations are Janesville (39%), Madison (10%) and Beloit (7%). Janesville: 2.1% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Janesville | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.1% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.3% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Rock River Heritage County Park, at 171 acres with 5.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. In 3 parks and preserves, walkers have 9.4 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Janesville: 3, covering 185 acres.
| Janesville | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 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. Rock River Heritage County Park | 5.3 mi | 171 |
| 2. Walt Lindemann Sportsman's Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Robert O Cook Memorial Arboretum | 0.1 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Four-year graduates: 43% of adults 25 and older here, 33% across Wisconsin. Adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 25% of residents (19% statewide). The age of the median resident in Janesville is 51 years.
| Janesville | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.5 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Janesville | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.3% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.5% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.4% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.9% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.9% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.1% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.8% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.8% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.9% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.6% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,700, single groups can be off by several points
January nights average 12.2°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 90% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 83°.
In Janesville, the January low is 12°F, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 11°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. About 37 inches of snow falls in a winter. For Janesville, the midsummer high is 83°F.
| Janesville | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 12°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,193 U.S. towns with household incomes like Janesville’s, it is less healthy than 84%, so it trails even them.
Among adults in Janesville, 31% feel lonely. This Wisconsin town tracks Wisconsin closely on all 32 CDC measures. 29% of adults in Janesville get no exercise outside work; 17% binge drink.
| Janesville | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 36% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Janesville
About 3 of every 100 Janesville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
41 notable people were born in Janesville.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Janesville is a city in, and the county seat of Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 65,615 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 66,428 in 2024, making it the tenth-most populous city in Wisconsin. The Janesville–Beloit Metropolitan statistical area, consisting solely of Rock County, has an estimated 165,461 residents in the 2024 estimate. It is located along the Rock River in southern Wisconsin.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Janesville.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janesville | #291 | C+ | C− | — | B− | C+ |
| Janesville | #307 | C+ | C+ | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Center | — | — | C− | — | B+ | B− |
| Fulton | #209 | B | C | — | B+ | B |
| Rock | #332 | C | C+ | — | C+ | C+ |
Center has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Janesville, Center, Fulton and Rock report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Janesville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Janesville grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #291 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C+ for health and B− 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−.
41 notable people were born here, including Paul Ryan and Russ Feingold.
