Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Milton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, 45th of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 90% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $86K. A typical home there costs about $356K, 4.7 years of the Janesville metro’s $76K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 19 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Milton House and Abram Allen House. Milton’s average trip to work is 30 minutes, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 22 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Schilberg Park, at 38 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Milton beats most towns.
Milton House
Milton House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 508 in 1880, 5,716 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1845 and 4 maps from 1891 on.
19 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Milton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Milton, 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 Milton.
Milton trades workers with Janesville and other neighbors, sees little violent crime and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
| Milton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Schilberg Park | 1.1 mi | 38 |
| 2. Crossridge Park | 0.5 mi | 24 |
| 3. Goodrich Park | 0.2 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Milton School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Milton High, with 1,057 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northside IntermediateLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 794 | A− |
| Milton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,057 | C |
| West ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 322 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Milton’s property crime rate is 2.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Milton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 6.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 12.2°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 90% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 82.7°.
Milton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Milton is 12°F. About 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Milton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 12°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Milton has about as many jobs (2,557) as working residents, but only 322 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 30.3 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
Most working residents leave Milton for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2013, Milton has added 881 jobs, to 2,557 in 2023. The top destinations are Janesville (24%), Madison (10%) and Fort Atkinson (4%).
| Milton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Work from home | 10% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Milton tracks Wisconsin closely on all 32 CDC measures. 40% of adults have obesity in Milton.
| Milton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 78% | 79% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Wisconsin average. Milton has grown 5.4% since 2020, to 6,024 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 16% of Milton residents are 65 or older.
| Milton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 32% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.3 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Milton | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.3% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.7% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.5% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.1% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.2% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.5% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.5% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Typical home values rose 6.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Milton | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $930 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 74% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Milton
About 5 of every 100 Milton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
19 places in Milton on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Milton.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Milton is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,716 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Milton.
Milton reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Milton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Milton grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #45 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B for health, A for safety and A− 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Albert Whitford and Leo Crowley.
