Roche-a-Cri Petroglyphs
Preston’s story
171 years in pictures
Census counts: 161 in 1870, a low of 136 in 1880, 1,377 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 2 maps from 1967 on.
- 1855Preston is settled
PrestonWI
A town of 1,441, settled in 1855.
Population
1,441
2025 Census estimate · +4.5% since 2020
Median home value
$160K
Census ACS
Household income
$49K
median
Median age
56.6
years
Jobs based here
118
A commuter town
Is Preston a good place to live?
Preston’s best subject grade is a B for the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 32% of residents are 65 or older in Preston, against 20% in Wisconsin’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 6 of Wisconsin’s 874 towns score lower on health. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Only 87 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score lower on history. The biggest place to walk is Roche-A-Cri State Park, 459 acres with 4.9 miles of trail. Preston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Small town
1,441 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
AdamsStrongs PrairieRichfieldBig FlatsPreston
How Preston grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Preston is from typical.
Jobs & incomeD−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.2 of 20; 2.1% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitDOpen →HealthLess healthy than 88% of U.S. towns; Gundersen Moundview Hospital and Clinics 3.5 miles awayDOpen →SchoolsBehind 76% of Wisconsin districts on tests and graduationC−Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listCOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $160K, 2.7 years of the county’s $59K median household incomeC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors8 miles of trails; 7% conserved landBOpen →HistoryC−Open →Civic life4 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Preston: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Preston, and how to reach them.
PowerAdams-Columbia Electric Coop19.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterPreston Pines water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers91% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Preston’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Wisconsin you can register online until 20 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 20 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereTown of Preston ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code5393453934 100%Census 2020
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 Preston.
HealthD
Compared with most of Wisconsin and the rest of the country, more of Preston’s adults have high blood pressure
45% of adults have high blood pressure in Preston, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 33% and U.S. towns at 35%. 42% of adults have obesity in Preston. Of the 358 Wisconsin towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Preston.
12%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Preston | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 26% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 17% | 19% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 20% | 16% |
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
2 better13 too close to call17 worse
| What stands out | Preston | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 14.7% | 19% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.1% | 77.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.9% | 6.5% |
Gundersen Moundview Hospital and Clinics
3.5 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D−
Preston stands out in Wisconsin and nationally: the median household income there is lower
Preston’s median household income is $49,000. Jobs based in Preston grew to 118 in 2023, 26 more than in 2013. 21% of Preston residents live below the poverty line.
2%work in town
| Preston | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Preston2%
Adams10%
Friendship10%
Wisconsin Rapids3%
Madison3%
27 mi
median commute distance
118
jobs based in Preston
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Preston
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 70% of U.S. communities.
70risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
3
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Preston has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Preston has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 8° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
52″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter11–29°
Spring33–56°
Summer57–80°
Fall37–58°
Oct 3
typical first frost
May 9
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6.7%conserved
| Preston | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.7% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
6.7%
conserved · 1,519 of 22,791 acres
8.1 mi
of trails · 0.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Roche-A-Cri State Park | 4.9 mi | 459 |
| 2. Roche-a-Cri State Natural Area | — | 132 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Preston
18pages on Preston
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Preston; the nearest are
Mid-State Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · Wisconsin Rapids25.7 mi$5,002 in-state tuitionUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens PointUniversity or college · Public · Stevens Point36.9 mi$9,488 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Preston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Preston for work
Where Preston’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
118jobs based in Preston
2%of working residents work in town
27 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Preston
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Preston is a town in Adams County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,377 at the 2020 census, slightly down from 1,393 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Cottonville is located in the town. The ghost towns of Fordham and Roche a Cri were also located in the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 968 ft
- Area code
- 608
Questions about Preston
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Preston, 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 C+.