Maiden Rock, 1865
Lake’s story
Lake in pictures
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 2 maps from 1970 on.
Explore the history →LakeWI
A town of 1,113.
Population
1,113
2025 Census estimate · +1.7% since 2020
Median home value
$222K
Census ACS
Household income
$70K
median
Median age
60.1
years
Jobs based here
39
A commuter town
Is Lake a good place to live?
The best of Lake’s subject grades are a B+ for the outdoors and cost of living; the weakest is a C− for walkability. 35% of residents are 65 or older in Lake, above both Wisconsin’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (18%). On health, just 64 of Wisconsin’s 874 towns do worse. Lake's public schools trail 79% of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation. 18% of the land in Lake is conserved, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 3.8% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Flambeau River State Forest, at 6,566 acres with 6.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Small town
1,113 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Park FallsEisensteinFlambeauDraperChippewaAgendaFifieldLake
How Lake grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Lake is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.2 of 20; 4.4% of households have no car; 1.1% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →SchoolsC−Open →HealthLess healthy than 76% of U.S. towns; Flambeau Hospital 5.9 miles awayC−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $222K, 3.7 years of the county’s $61K median household incomeB+Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 34% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listB+Open →Jobs & income$70K median household incomeC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Lake: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake, and how to reach them.
PowerPrice Electric CoopEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterPark Falls WaterworksNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & dumpNearest public drop-offPark Falls Transfer Station, 4 miOpenStreetMap
Register to voteOnlineIn Wisconsin you can register online until 20 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 20 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereTown of Lake ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP codes54552, 5451454552 62% · 54514 38%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lake.
HealthC−
A larger share of adults in Lake have diabetes than in the typical Wisconsin or U.S. town
15% of Lake adults have diabetes. Among 358 Wisconsin towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Lake. 42% of Lake adults have obesity.
24%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 26% | 25% |
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
4 better14 too close to call14 worse
| What stands out | Lake | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 15.9% | 19% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.4% | 77.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.9% | 6.5% |
Flambeau Hospital
5.9 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Most of Lake’s workers commute out: the town has 0.1 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Lake for work: only 1% work in town. Lake’s average trip to work is 18 minutes. Jobs based in Lake fell to 39 in 2023, 26 fewer than in 2013.
1%work in town
| Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Lake1%
Park Falls26%
Phillips13%
Fifield3%
Eau Claire3%
25 mi
median commute distance
39
jobs based in Lake
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
17.6%conserved
17.6%
conserved · 10,321 of 58,549 acres
19 mi
of trails · 0.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Flambeau River State Forest | 6.6 mi | 6,566 |
| 2. Tuscobia Trailhead County Park | 0.9 mi | 40 |
| 3. Price County Forest | 0.8 mi | 2,770 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Lake
Lake has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Lake is 78°F.
57″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter6–24°
Spring28–51°
Summer53–76°
Fall34–53°
Sep 28
typical first frost
May 15
typical last frost
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B+
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Lake
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities.
34risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold waves
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lake
18pages on Lake
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Lake; the nearest are
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Hayward38.6 mi$6,030 in-state tuitionGogebic Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Ironwood, MI42.6 mi$4,800 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Lake for work
Where Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
39jobs based in Lake
1%of working residents work in town
25 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Lake
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Lake is a town in Price County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,106 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Kennedy is located in the town. The ghost town of Kaiser was also located in the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 92 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,480 ft
Questions about Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lake, WI expensive?
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+.