Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Port Washington’s best subject grades are an A for schools and an A− for civic life; its weakest is a C for cost of living. On hazard risk, just 30 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better. Port Washington’s midsummer high is 80°F, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. The biggest park or preserve is Sauk Creek Nature Preserve, at 28 acres. Port Washington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Port Washington beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Port Washington | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.6% | 12.1% |
Where Port Washington’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 Port Washington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,386 in 1880, 12,353 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1793 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Port Washington, 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 Port Washington.
Households in Port Washington have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2000. On expected storm and flood damage, Port Washington sits below 97% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 39% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 35% to cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For most workers, Port Washington is a place to come home to: only 2% work in town. Jobs here fell by 52 from 2013 to 2023, to 376. The town’s typical journey to work stands at 20 minutes. The top destinations are Port Washington (19%), Milwaukee (16%) and Grafton (6%).
| Port Washington | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.6% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 11% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For adults in Port Washington, the share who worry about having enough food is 9.6%. Among adults here, 31% sleep under 7 hours and 33% have obesity.
| Port Washington | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| What stands out | Port Washington | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.6% | 12.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8% | 9.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For Port Washington, the January low is 14°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Port Washington, 24% of residents are under 18. Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). Population is up 3.2% in the town since 2020, to 1,601 by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. College graduates make up 31% of adults 25 and older, against 33% across Wisconsin.
| Port Washington | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 41.6 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.2 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Port Washington | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.5% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.3% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.9% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.3% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.2% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
Across 1 park or preserve: 0.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sauk Creek Nature Preserve | — | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Port Washington. Close and well known come first.
27 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
27 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
27 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
27 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
27 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
16 mi Park & preserveKettle Moraine State ForestFiserv 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 · Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us · Kettle Moraine State Forest: self, CC BY-SA 2.5
1 within 15 miles of the center of Port Washington
About 4 of every 100 Port Washington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
13 notable people were born in Port Washington.
City and county seat of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Port Washington is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore east of Interstate 43, the community is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area 27 miles (43 km) north of Milwaukee. The city's artificial harbor at the mouth of Sauk Creek was dredged in the 1870s and was a commercial port until the early 2000s. The population was 12,353 at the 2020 census. When French explorers arrived in the area in the 17th century, they found a Native American village at the mouth of Sauk Creek—the present location of historic downtown Port Washington. The United States Federal Government forcibly expelled the Native Americans in the …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Port Washington.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Washington | — | — | C | — | A | B+ |
| Port Washington | #6 | A+ | C+ | A | A | A− |
| Saukville | #159 | B+ | C | B− | A | B+ |
| Saukville | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
| Belgium | — | — | C | — | A− | A− |
| Grafton | #57 | A | C | — | A | A |
Port Washington, Saukville and Belgium have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Port Washington, Saukville, Belgium and Grafton report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Port Washington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
13 notable people were born here, including Josh Gasser and Janine P. Geske.
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