PolarWI
A town of 1,012, settled in 1882.
Is Polar a good place to live?
The best of Polar’s subject grades is a B for the outdoors; the weakest is a C− for schools. Among 363 Wisconsin towns, just 3 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Polar. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 72% of U.S. towns. Polar has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Polar stand out
Where Polar beats most towns.
1,012 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Polar grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Polar is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Polar: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Polar, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Polar.
Cold waves leads a very low hazard risk in Polar
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Polar’s workers commute out: the town has 0.1 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Polar for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2013, Polar has lost 37 jobs, to 49 in 2023. 5.5% of Polar residents live below the poverty line, near the Wisconsin town median (6.4%) and below the median of U.S. towns (9.6%).
| Polar | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 9.4% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Residents of Polar are less healthy than 67% of U.S. towns
On this, Polar is above both Wisconsin’s towns (26%) and U.S. towns (25%). Polar beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 15% of adults report frequent physical distress in Polar.
| Polar | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Polar | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.6% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 16.9% | 13.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.2% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Polar, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Polar has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Polar is 79°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Polar | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 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. Langlade County Forest | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Polar
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Polar; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Polar residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
99% of working residents leave Polar for work
Where Polar’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Polar
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Polar is a town in Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,018 at the 2020 census. The town of Polar established a post office in 1882, until it was discontinued in 1887. In 1897, the town restored the post office, but it was eventually permanently discontinued in 1967. Polar is named after Hi. B. Polar. The area was originally a trading post operated during the 1850s and 1860s along a military road, which ran along Hi Polar Lake. This post was a stopping off point for mail carriers traveling to and from Green Bay and Ontonagon, Michigan.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,499 ft
Questions about Polar
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Polar, WI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.