Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,737. 76% more nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Trash: drop-off onlyLincoln is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 240th of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $78K. A typical home there costs about $291K, 4.2 years of the county’s $68K median household income. 31% of residents are 65 or older in Lincoln, above both the Wisconsin town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). The biggest place to walk is Vilas County Forest, 690 acres with 1.9 miles of trail. Only 5 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower typical July afternoon high than Lincoln.
Where Lincoln beats most towns.
Where Lincoln’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 Lincoln is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1933 and a map from 1970 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Lincoln, 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 Lincoln.
Lincoln is a second-home town and has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns.
The median commute is under 16 miles. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Lincoln rose by 67, to 633. Most people who work leave Lincoln to do it: just 8% work in town. For Lincoln, the average commute is 21 minutes.
| Lincoln | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $78,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
36.8% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 6.2% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
For Lincoln, the median age is 53.7 years. Wisconsin has a third of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 27%. In Lincoln, 16% of residents are under 18. The town is growing: up 3.4% since 2020, to 2,737 residents (2025 estimate).
| Lincoln | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.7 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 32% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Lincoln | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.4% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.2% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.9% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 24.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.2% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.1% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.1% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.8% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
The Eagle Rvr weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 121 days, shorter than in 97% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 77.2°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 2.9°.
Lincoln has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 77 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Lincoln, the trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile. 4.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Lincoln | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vilas County Forest | 1.9 mi | 690 |
| 2. Tara Lila LLC Section 9 Road Unit | 0.7 mi | 169 |
| 3. Tara Lila LLC Sundstein Road Unit | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The share of adults in Lincoln who get no exercise outside work: 29%. Against the Wisconsin average, Lincoln comes out ahead on 7 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 9. 40% of adults in the town have high blood pressure; 14% report frequent mental distress.
| Lincoln | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Lincoln | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.6% | 9.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.5% | 5.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA puts 47% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 42% to cold waves. In Lincoln, the FEMA risk score is 50 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Lincoln; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Lincoln residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Lincoln is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,659 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Lincoln.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | #240 | B− | B− | — | B− | B− |
| Washington | — | — | B | — | B− | B− |
| Eagle River | — | — | B | — | B− | B |
| Cloverland | — | — | B− | — | B− | B− |
| Sugar Camp | — | — | B | — | A− | B− |
| Three Lakes | — | — | B | — | A− | B |
| Conover | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B− |
Washington, Eagle River, Cloverland, Sugar Camp, Three Lakes and Conover have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Lincoln, Washington, Eagle River, Cloverland, Sugar Camp, Three Lakes and Conover report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lincoln with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lincoln grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #240 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B− for health and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.