Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Oak Creek grades B+ overall, ranked 176th of 357 in Wisconsin. The median household earns $97K. Residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $407K, 5.2 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. On hazard risk, just 87 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better. 11% of the land in Oak Creek is conserved, above both the Wisconsin town median (3.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). On the outdoors, just 55 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better.
Where Oak Creek beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Oak Creek | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.8% | 9.9% |
11% of the town is conserved land, across 29 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Oak Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 9,372 in 1960, 36,497 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 4 maps from 1891 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oak Creek. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
12 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
11 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
11 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
11 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
11 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of WisconsinSix 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 · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us · Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oak Creek, 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 Oak Creek.
Oak Creek has added a third more jobs in ten years and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s; it also has property taxes 1.5 times the Wisconsin norm.
The biggest park or preserve is Oak Creek Parkway, at 905 acres. 18 miles of trail in 29 parks and preserves. Oak Creek’s trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile, above Wisconsin’s towns (0.4) and close to U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bender Park | 4 mi | 283 |
| 2. Falk Park | 2.4 mi | 269 |
| 3. Abendschein Community Park | 1.8 mi | 74 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Creek East MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 935 | B+ |
| Oak Creek HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,220 | B+ |
| Carollton ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 376 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oak Creek.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
21% of adults get no exercise outside work in Oak Creek. Oak Creek beats the Wisconsin average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 12% of adults report frequent physical distress in Oak Creek.
| Oak Creek | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 26% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Oak Creek | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 21.2% | 26.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Oak Creek has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Oak Creek is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median property tax bill is $5,839, against $3,792 across Wisconsin, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
58% of Oak Creek households own their home. Typical home values rose 5.2% in the year to September 2026. Oak Creek’s median rent is $1,452 a month.
| Oak Creek | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 74% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 34% | 39% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,452 a month | $1,076 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here grew from 15,527 in 2013 to 21,975.
Most working residents leave Oak Creek for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2013, Oak Creek has added 6,448 jobs, to 21,975 in 2023. The top destinations are Milwaukee (32%), Wauwatosa (5%) and Franklin (4%).
| Oak Creek | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.9% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 22.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 79% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 720 to 722 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Wisconsin average. Oak Creek has grown 4.9% since 2020, to 38,296 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 39% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Wisconsin.
| Oak Creek | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.4 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Oak Creek | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.8% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.3% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.2% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.1% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.1% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.3% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
12 within 15 miles of the center of Oak Creek
About 5 of every 100 Oak Creek residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Oak Creek is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. It sits on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and is located immediately south of Milwaukee. The population was 36,497 at the 2020 census. In 2011, the city was one of the fastest growing in Milwaukee County and all of Wisconsin. The area has experienced an economic boom in recent years, with the addition of large companies such as Amazon, IKEA, the Astronautics Corporation of America & Meijer
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Oak Creek.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Oak Creek grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #176 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A− for health, C+ for safety and B+ 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 Margaret Domka and Harrison Cleary.
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