Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,168, settled in 1853. 92% more nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Trash day: look up yoursMarinette gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $206K, 3.4 years of the Marinette area’s $61K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 305th of 357 in Wisconsin. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 86% of the state's. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 79% of U.S. towns. 46% of working residents work locally in Marinette, above both Wisconsin’s towns (8.2%) and U.S. towns (8%). On civic life, just 10 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns do better. Marinette has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them F.J. Lauerman House and Dunlap Square Building.
Where Marinette beats most towns.
Where Marinette’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 Marinette is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,412 in 1880, a peak of 16,195 in 1900, 11,119 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1889 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marinette, 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 Marinette.
Marinette draws workers from Menominee and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
9,681 jobs are based in Marinette, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 12.8 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
Marinette’s average trip to work is 13 minutes. The top destinations are Menominee (11%), Green Bay (4%) and Peshtigo (3%). 12% of residents live below the poverty line in Marinette.
| Marinette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Marinette School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Marinette High, with 618 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marinette MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 534 | C− |
| Marinette HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 618 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 2002, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marinette.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $1,796, against $3,792 across Wisconsin, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Marinette is $807 a month. Typical home values rose 6% in the year to September 2026.
| Marinette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $807 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 78°, cooler than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 11.3°.
Marinette has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Marinette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 82°F | 85°F |
| January low | 11°F | 11°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.7 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Red Arrow Park, at 102 acres.
| Marinette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.6% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Red Arrow Park | 0.4 mi | 102 |
| 2. Marinette City Park | — | 52 |
| 3. Charles D Pedersen Ball Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 22.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 79% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 8,545 U.S. towns with household incomes like Marinette’s, it is healthier than 68%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Marinette beats the Wisconsin average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 30% of Marinette adults get no exercise outside work.
| Marinette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | Marinette | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.6% | 9.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.7% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Marinette; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Marinette residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
7 places in Marinette on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Marinette.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Marinette is a city in Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 11,119 at the 2020 census. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River at its mouth on Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of the city preserved as a park. Menominee, Michigan, is across the Menominee River to the north, and the cities are connected by three bridges. Menominee and Marinette are sometimes described as the "twin cities" of the Menominee River. Marinette is the principal city of the Marinette micropolitan area, which includes parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. During the lumbering boom of the late 19th century, Marinette beca…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Marinette.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marinette | #305 | C+ | A− | C+ | D | C+ |
| Peshtigo | #317 | C | B | — | C− | B− |
| Porterfield | — | — | C | — | D | B− |
Porterfield has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Peshtigo and Porterfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Marinette with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marinette grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #305 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
18 notable people were born here, including Arthur Gardner and Tom Petri.
