Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Portage gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $294K for a typical one, or 3.3 years of the Madison metro’s $89K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 293rd of 357 in Wisconsin. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 81% of U.S. communities, with hail at the top. On the plus side, 10% of its land is conserved. 29% of working residents work locally in Portage, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 8.2% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Old Indian Agency House and Zona Gale House. Portage is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns.
Where Portage beats most towns.
Census counts: 603 in 1850, 10,581 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1826 and 3 maps from 1902 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Portage is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portage, 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 Portage.
Portage trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Wisconsin (mostly hail).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Wisconsin towns, with expected losses of about $352 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Among 362 Wisconsin towns, just 3 have a higher FEMA risk score than Portage. Since 1983, 38 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Portage.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Portage Community School District. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Portage High, with 600 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muir ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 439 | B+ |
| Portage HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 600 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
The Portage Wwtp weather station records that about 9 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 77% of Wisconsin places with climate records.
Portage has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 10° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.9 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Historic Indian Agency House, at 129 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Historic Indian Agency House | — | 129 |
| 2. Pine Island State Wildlife Area | — | 115 |
| 3. Veterans Memorial Fields | — | 51 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
About one in 3 of Portage’s working residents works in town. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Portage. The top destinations are Madison (15%), Baraboo (2%) and Lake Delton (2%).
| Portage | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.4% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes are within reach (about $294K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 25 miles.
59% of Portage households own their home. The typical Portage home is worth about $294,000, up 2.8% in a year, 13% below the Wisconsin typical home.
| Portage | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,008 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 21.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 75% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 181 to 140 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Portage is 13.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Portage | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.1 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,884 U.S. towns with household incomes like Portage’s, it is healthier than 62%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Only 10 of the 357 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Portage. Portage beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12.
| Portage | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 78% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Portage | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.2% | 9.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.9% | 5.5% |
| More smokers | 17% | 13.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Portage. Close and well known come first.
33 mi Stadium & arenaCamp Randall Stadium
15 mi Park & preserveIce Age Trail
17 mi Canyon & gorgeDells of the Wisconsin River
16 mi State parkDevil's Lake State Park17 mi Theme parkNoah's Ark Water Park
33 mi Stadium & arenaKohl CenterCamp Randall Stadium: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Ice Age Trail: MDuchek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dells of the Wisconsin River: atramos, CC BY 2.0 · Devil's Lake State Park: CrispAir at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · Kohl Center: Pbrown111 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Portage; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Portage residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
9 places in Portage on the National Register of Historic Places.
22 notable people were born in Portage.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Portage is a city in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Columbia County. It is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Portage was named for the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway, a portage between the Fox River and the Wisconsin River, which was recognized by Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet during their discovery of a route to the Mississippi River in 1673. The city's slogan is "Where the North Begins."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Portage.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage | #293 | C+ | B+ | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Fort Winnebago | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pacific | #225 | B | A | — | C+ | B− |
| Lewiston | — | — | A− | — | C+ | B− |
| Caledonia | — | — | B− | — | C+ | B− |
Lewiston and Caledonia have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Pacific, Lewiston and Caledonia report no FBI crime data of their own. Fort Winnebago isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Portage with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Portage grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #293 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the 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+.
22 notable people were born here, including Frederick Jackson Turner and Zona Gale.
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