Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,589, settled in 1874. A regional job hub with 5,306 jobs.
Medford gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $242K, 3.5 years of the county’s $69K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 246th of 357 in Wisconsin. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 48% of working residents work locally in Medford, above both Wisconsin’s towns (8.2%) and U.S. towns (8%). Medford has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Taylor County Courthouse and J. W. Benn Building. Among 362 Wisconsin towns, just 9 have a lower average trip to work than Medford.
Where Medford beats most towns.
Where Medford’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 Medford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 504 in 1880, 4,349 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 2 maps from 1969 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Medford, 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 Medford.
Medford draws workers from Medford and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
5,306 jobs are based in Medford, 2.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 14.2 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
The median household income in Medford is $60,000. The top destinations are Abbotsford (4%), Colby (3%) and Wausau (2%). 6.9% of Medford workers work from home.
| Medford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $60,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.9% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Medford Area Public School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Medford High, with 667 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medford ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 587 | B |
| Medford HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 667 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
56% of households own their home in Medford. Typical home values rose 8.8% in the year to September 2026. Medford’s median rent is $846 a month.
| Medford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $846 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Medford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 4° and about 57 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 23.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 81% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.9 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Medford City Park, at 88 acres.
| Medford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Taylor County Educational Campus | 0.5 mi | 60 |
| 2. Medford City Park | 0.3 mi | 88 |
| 3. Taylor County Fairgrounds | — | 35 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 8,870 U.S. towns with household incomes like Medford’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Medford beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Medford | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Medford | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.2% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Medford; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Medford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
4 places in Medford on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Medford.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Medford is a city and county seat of Taylor County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,349 at the 2020 census. The city is located mostly within the boundaries of the Town of Medford.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Medford.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medford | #246 | B− | B+ | C+ | B− | B− |
| Medford | #237 | B− | B | — | B− | C+ |
| Little Black | — | — | A− | — | B− | C |
| Deer Creek | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Little Black has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Medford and Little Black report no FBI crime data of their own. Deer Creek isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Medford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Medford grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #246 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools.
Wisconsin has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Medford sits nearer the middle.
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+.
8 notable people were born here, including Jeane Dixon and Jack Perkins.
