Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Merrill gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $227K for a typical one, or 3.3 years of the county’s $68K median household income. It grades C overall, 329th of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 79% of the country, and the median household income is $53K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, 6% of its land is conserved. 33% of working residents work locally in Merrill, against 8.2% in Wisconsin’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 63 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.), at 96 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Merrill beats most towns.
Scott, T. B., Free LibraryEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Merrill is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 882 in 1880, 9,347 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 2 maps from 1966 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Merrill, 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 Merrill.
Merrill is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Wisconsin (mostly inland flooding).
Against the 6,822 U.S. towns with household incomes like Merrill’s, it is less healthy than 57%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
44% of Merrill adults have obesity. Merrill beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 16% of Merrill adults report frequent physical distress.
| Merrill | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Merrill | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.1% | 9.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6.5% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.5% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Merrill Area School District. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie River MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 507 | C+ |
| Merrill HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 756 | C |
| Washington ElementaryTop results in townGrades 3–4 | Grades 3–4 | 257 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
| Merrill | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.9% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.) | 1.5 mi | 96 |
| 2. Council Grounds State Park | 0.5 mi | 96 |
| 3. Lincoln County Fair Grounds | — | 43 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
58.7% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 43.7% across Wisconsin.
Merrill’s median rent is $771 a month. Typical home values rose 8.3% in the year to September 2026. 61% of households own their home in Merrill.
| Merrill | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $771 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 30.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 90% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 270 to 171 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Merrill is 16.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Merrill | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.4 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Merrill has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 5° and about 54 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Merrill’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Wausau (13%), Weston (3%) and Medford (2%). Half commute less than 16 miles.
| Merrill | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of Wisconsin towns, with expected losses of about $673 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
One flood insurance claim has been paid in Merrill since 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Merrill. Close and well known come first.
16 mi MuseumLeigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
16 mi TheatreGrand TheaterLeigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum: User:Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Grand Theater: Billertl, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Merrill
About 4 of every 100 Merrill residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
6 places in Merrill on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Merrill.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Merrill is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located to the south of and adjacent to the Town of Merrill. The population was 9,347, according to the 2020 census. Merrill is part of the United States Census Bureau's Merrill MSA, which includes all of Lincoln County. Together with the Wausau MSA, which includes all of Marathon County, it forms the Wausau-Merrill CSA.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Merrill.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrill | #329 | C | B+ | C | B− | C− |
| Merrill | #260 | B− | A− | — | B− | C |
| Scott | — | — | B+ | — | B− | C |
| Pine River | — | — | B+ | — | B− | C |
Scott and Pine River have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Merrill, Scott and Pine River report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Merrill with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Merrill grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #329 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C− for health, C for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
9 notable people were born here, including Wendy Boglioli and Donald Edgar Tewes.
