Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town of 25,602 people was settled in 1883. Public schools that outperform most of Wisconsin.
Trash day: look up yoursA good place to live, if you can afford it. Incomes are its strong suit: the median household earns $112K. The catch is cost of living (C−) — the typical home is worth about $526K, 6.7 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns. It ranks 43rd of 357 in Wisconsin. Only 79 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score higher on the outdoors. Muskego has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Carl and Therese Schauwitzer House and Muskego State Graded School. 46% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more here, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · USGS PAD-US · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Muskego beats most towns.
Where Muskego’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 Muskego is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,858 in 1960, 25,032 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1859 and 5 maps from 1891 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Muskego. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
17 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
18 mi TheatreAlpine Valley Music Theatre
16 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a yearSix Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Fiserv Forum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Milwaukee Art Museum: Michael Hicks (Mulad), CC BY 2.0 · UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena: Shadowlink1014, Public domain · Alpine Valley Music Theatre: chad davis, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us
Who provides power, water and the rest in Muskego, 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 Muskego.
Muskego has schools in the top 5% of Wisconsin, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Wisconsin.
Count the trails in 17 parks and preserves and they come to 33 miles. The biggest park or preserve is Big Muskego Lake Wildlife Area, at 893 acres. The density of trails for Muskego comes to 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Muskego | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.4% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Muskego County Park | 5 mi | 195 |
| 2. Badertscher Preserve | 3.2 mi | 86 |
| 3. Denoon Park | 1.7 mi | 61 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A+ ranks #9 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we grade for schools. Its A+ is the best School Grade on its borders; New Berlin (A) is next.
The Muskego-Norway School District runs its public schools. Three of the 7 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public school enrollment in the town: 2,678 students across 4 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Lane ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 912 | A+ |
| Muskego HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,634 | A |
| Mill Valley ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 417 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
At 6.7 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income, the typical home (about $527K) costs more against local pay than in 92% of Wisconsin towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 6% in the year to September 2026. 85% of Muskego households live in a home they own. The town’s median rent comes in at $1,313 a month.
| Muskego | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,313 a month | $1,076 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Wisconsin is food insecurity: 7% of its 19,390 adults worry about having enough food, against 12.1% statewide.
In Muskego, 5.1% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Of 32 CDC measures, Muskego beats the Wisconsin average on 16 and trails it on 1. 21% of adults in Muskego binge drink; 30% sleep under 7 hours.
| Muskego | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Muskego | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7% | 12.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.1% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Commuting out is the norm in Muskego: nearly a tenth of working residents work locally. Jobs based in Muskego grew to 6,676 in 2023, 1,402 more than in 2013. Also worth knowing: for residents in the town, the share who live below the poverty line is 3%. The top destinations are Milwaukee (21%), New Berlin (7%) and Waukesha (6%).
| Muskego | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $112,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes rose from 107 to 192 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 16 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
In Muskego, the violent crime rate is 0.6 per 1,000 residents. Its property crime rate stands at 6.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Muskego | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.8 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Of the losses FEMA expects in Muskego, 52% come from inland flooding and 22% from cold waves. On expected storm and flood damage, Muskego sits below 72% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 36 claims in the town since 1993.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Mt Mary College weather station, 15 miles away, records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 80% of Wisconsin places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.4°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 87% of Wisconsin places with climate records; January nights average 13.4°.
For Muskego, the January low is 13°F.
| Muskego | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 13°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
9 within 15 miles of the center of Muskego
About 5 of every 100 Muskego residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Muskego ( ) is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,032. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The name Muskego is derived from the Potawatomi Indian name for the area, "Mus-kee-Guaac", meaning sunfish. The Potawatomi were the original inhabitants of Muskego. Muskego is the fifth-largest community in Waukesha County, and has a large Norwegian American population. There are three lakes within the city's boundaries.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Muskego.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; New Berlin (A) comes closest.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muskego | #43 | A | C− | B+ | A+ | A |
| New Berlin | #52 | A | C− | B+ | A | A |
| Vernon | — | — | A− | — | A | — |
| Franklin | #113 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A− |
| Norway | #207 | B | C | — | A− | B |
| Wind Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Big Bend | — | — | B− | — | A | A |
Big Bend has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Vernon, Norway and Big Bend report no FBI crime data of their own. Vernon and Wind Lake aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Muskego with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Muskego grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #43 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
2 notable people were born here, including Andrija Novakovich and Henry Lockney.
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