Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lake Geneva's standout: it has 13 miles of trail. Overall it grades B−, ranked 231st of 357 in Wisconsin. Natural-hazard risk is low and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $418K, 5.2 years of the Whitewater area’s $81K median household income. Lake Geneva’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Lake Geneva has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Redwood Cottage and Horticultural Hall.
Where Lake Geneva beats most towns.
9.5% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Lake Geneva is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 14%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,097 in 1860, 8,277 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1874 and 4 maps from 1893 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake Geneva, 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 Lake Geneva.
Lake Geneva draws workers from Geneva and beyond, 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 #8 of 362 in Wisconsin.
In the comparison, Lake Geneva comes against 3.8% in Wisconsin’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Big Foot Beach State Park, 254 acres with 7.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Big Foot Beach State Park | 7.3 mi | 254 |
| 2. Hillmoor | 1.4 mi | 188 |
| 3. Four Seasons Nature Preserve | 0.9 mi | 64 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lake Geneva J1 School District. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Badger High, with 1,240 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Geneva MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 551 | B− |
| Badger HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,240 | C+ |
| Eastview ElementaryTop results in townGrades 4–5 | Grades 4–5 | 257 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
6,425 jobs are based in Lake Geneva, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 4 of Lake Geneva’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Lake Geneva grew to 6,425 in 2023, 1,340 more than in 2013. 11% of residents live below the poverty line in Lake Geneva.
| Lake Geneva | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 94% of U.S. communities. Since 2020, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake Geneva.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
55% of Lake Geneva households own their home. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Lake Geneva is $1,389 a month.
| Lake Geneva | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,389 a month | $1,076 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Lake Geneva Wwtp weather station records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 78% of Wisconsin places with climate records. The Lake Geneva Wwtp weather station records that about 21 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 82% of Wisconsin places with climate records.
Lake Geneva has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 13°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 26% of residents (19% statewide). Lake Geneva’s median age is 49.1 years. Lake Geneva has grown 6.4% since 2020, to 8,818 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Lake Geneva | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.1 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 32% | 29% |
56% women, 44% men
About 80 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3 points). Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Lake Geneva | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.1% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.9% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.3% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.2% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.6% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.6% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.2% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.1% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Lake Geneva tracks Wisconsin closely on all 32 CDC measures.
| Lake Geneva | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 35% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 19.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 67% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Geneva. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
11 mi TheatreAlpine Valley Music Theatre
25 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
40 mi State parkAztalan State Park
37 mi Zoo & aquariumMilwaukee County Zoo
39 mi GardenMitchell Park Horticultural ConservatorySix Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Alpine Valley Music Theatre: chad davis, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Aztalan State Park: Joshua Mayer - Flickr user wackybadger, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Milwaukee County Zoo: Awkwafaba, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory: Sulfur (Talk / contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Lake Geneva; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Lake Geneva residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
Where Lake Geneva’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Lake Geneva on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Lake Geneva.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Lake Geneva is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. Situated on Geneva Lake, the population was 8,277 at the 2020 census. It is located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Milwaukee and 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Chicago. Given its relative proximity to the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, Lake Geneva has become a popular resort town that thrives on tourism. Since the late 19th century, it has been home to numerous lakefront mansions owned by wealthy Chicagoans as second homes, leading it to be nicknamed the "Newport of the West".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lake Geneva.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Geneva | #231 | B− | D | B− | B+ | B |
| Linn | #163 | B+ | C− | A | B− | B |
| Geneva | #85 | A− | C− | A+ | B+ | B+ |
| Lyons | #236 | B− | B− | — | B+ | B |
| Bloomfield · Bloomfield | #245 | B− | B− | — | B | C+ |
Lyons and Bloomfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Bloomfield and Bloomfield are one community, graded once. Compare Lake Geneva with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lake Geneva grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #231 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
9 notable people were born here, including Neil Gehrels and Skip Williams.
