Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mineral Point is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 19th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns. It reports less crime per resident than 80% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest mark, a B+, is in schools. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. On history, just 1 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better. 21% of working residents work locally in Mineral Point, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 8.2% and U.S. towns at 8%. Mineral Point's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Mineral Point beats most towns.
Pendarvis (Additional Documentation)Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Mineral Point is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1827, comes before those of 97% of the Wisconsin towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 2,389 in 1860, 2,581 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mineral Point, 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 Mineral Point.
Mineral Point trades workers with Dodgeville and other neighbors, sees little violent crime and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
Count the trails in 2 parks and preserves and they come to 1.6 miles. Mineral Point’s density of trails is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Water Tower Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Skidmore-Whitford Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Mineral Point Unified School District. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral Point ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 377 | B+ |
| Mineral Point HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 253 | B+ |
| Mineral Point MiddleTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 170 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Of the losses FEMA expects in Mineral Point, 35% come from inland flooding and 22% from cold waves. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 85% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Mineral Point after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2013.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Mineral Point’s violent offense rate stands at 0.4 per 1,000 residents. Its property offense rate is 6.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Mineral Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 6.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among adults in Mineral Point, 29% feel lonely. Of 32 CDC measures, Mineral Point beats the Wisconsin average on 7 and trails it on 1. Two figures for adults in the town: 14% report frequent mental distress, 18% binge drink.
| Mineral Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | Mineral Point | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 12.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 80% of Wisconsin places with climate records; January nights average 10°.
About 41 inches of snow falls in a winter. Mineral Point’s January low comes in at 10°F.
| Mineral Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 10°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mineral Point has about as many jobs (1,499) as working residents, but only 267 people both live and work here.
Since 2013, Mineral Point has added 254 jobs, to 1,499 in 2023. Roughly one working resident in five has a job in Mineral Point itself. Mineral Point: 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Dodgeville (18%), Madison (11%) and Platteville (4%).
| Mineral Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 9.7% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 25% of residents are under 18 in Mineral Point. Here, 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 33% in Wisconsin as a whole.
| Mineral Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.4 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Mineral Point | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.2% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.5% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.8% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.9% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17.5% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,600, single groups can be off by several points
Typical home values rose 6.3% in the year to September 2026. In Mineral Point, the rent at the middle of the market is $877 a month. Also worth knowing: the share of households in Mineral Point who live in a home they own: 69%.
| Mineral Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $877 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Mineral Point; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Mineral Point residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
8 notable people were born in Mineral Point.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Mineral Point is a city in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,581 at the 2020 census. The city is located within the Town of Mineral Point and is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Mineral Point was settled in 1827, becoming a lead and zinc mining center, and commercial town in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It initially drew a considerable number of Cornish-immigrant miners and their families. In the mid-20th century it attracted artists and an artist's colony and its tourism industry began to grow. The city's well-preserved historical character within the varied natural topography of the driftless area has made it a regional tourist destination. Mineral Po…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Mineral Point grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #19 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools.
Not for the area. That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($88,804 across the Madison, WI metro 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 Allen Ludden and Ethel Wright.