Madison, the state capital · Photo: college.library · CC BY 2.0How Wisconsin stacks up
In Wisconsin, none of its neighbors matches it on schools and natural-hazard risk. That leaves it 4th of 51, with an A (94 of 100). It stands out for schools that rank 8th on the Nation’s Report Card and short commutes (22 minutes on average).
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
15th of 51B+72/100 Comfortably on the safe side. Its towns mostly sit mid-table; Waunakee ranks highest, at #84. At 245 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, Wisconsin sits 19th lowest among the states.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places 7th lowest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 83 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally. Covers 93% of residents of Wisconsin’s 10,000+ towns.
A mixed picture, town by town
Oregon leads its towns at #128 of 3,410 nationally, with Port Washington and Oconomowoc close behind. Milwaukee, La Crosse and Beloit sit at the high-crime end of the national ranking. Of residents of its 10,000+ towns, 15% live in the safest quarter nationally and 23% in the quarter reporting the most crime.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Wisconsin | 15% | 23% |
Towns policed by others
Our town measure uses the crime each local police department reports to the FBI; towns without enough of the last three years are left out. In Wisconsin, 93% of residents of 10,000+ towns are covered. One town, Baraboo, has too few years reported and sits out. In Howard, Bellevue, Pewaukee and twelve other places, county or state police answer the calls, so there is no town figure. Next door, coverage runs from 55% in Illinois to 96% in Iowa.
Schools
3rd of 51A+96/100 Schools are a standout. Spending ranks 26th; results rank 8th. 35% of students test Proficient on the Nation’s Report Card (8th highest) and 91% graduate on time (3rd highest). No neighbor beats it on schools; Illinois comes closest.
Graduation: 90.5% finish high school on time (class of 2023), 3rd highest. The grade weighs test results and graduation equally.
Per-pupil spending, $16,459 (26th highest), is shown for context and not graded.
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 99 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally.
Cost of living
27th of 51B−48/100 About average on cost. The typical homeowner pays $3,792 a year in property tax, 22% above the national figure. Its towns beat the statewide figure. Town by town it lands near the middle, with Two Rivers its best at #88 of 5,235.
A typical home costs 3.4 years of median household income, 18th lowest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 99 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
23rd of 51B56/100 A little healthier than average. Compared with 19% nationally, 18% of adults here report fair or poor health. Whitefish Bay leads its towns at #162 nationally; 11% of residents live in top-quarter towns.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 97 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally.
Housing
27th of 51B−48/100 Owners and renters in typical measure. 68% of homes are lived in by their owners, against 65% nationally (22nd highest). Big places drag it down: Milwaukee and Madison rank in the national bottom quarter.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 99 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
4th of 51A94/100 Low risk with few exceptions. Only Maryland and one other state put more residents in the nation’s lowest-risk quarter of towns. FEMA expects $88 of damage a year for every $100,000 of buildings, about half the national figure (5th lowest). Among its neighbors it does best on hazard risk, with Michigan second.
Eight federal major-disaster declarations since 2015, 19th fewest.
Behind the figure: inland flooding 78%, tornado 11%, hail 8% of FEMA’s expected losses.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 99 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
11th of 51A−80/100 Short commutes with few exceptions. Town after town lands in the national top quarter: 53% of residents live in one. Getting to work takes 22.2 minutes on average (11th shortest).
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 99 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
33rd of 51C+36/100 Growing a little slower than the country. Between 2010 and 2020 it grew 3.6%, the 17th slowest change among the states. Windsor leads its towns at #32 nationally; 18% of residents live in top-quarter towns.
Builders took out permits for 4.3 homes per 1,000 residents in 2025, 26th most.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 94 Wisconsin towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Wisconsin compares to its neighbors
Against Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, Wisconsin leads on schools and natural hazards.
| Wisconsin | Michigan | Minnesota | Iowa | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | A 944th of 51 | B 6419th of 51 | A+ 963rd of 51 | A 925th of 51 | B 6220th of 51 |
| Safety | B+ 7219th official · 15% in top towns | B− 5442nd official · 17% in top towns | A− 7615th official · 15% in top towns | B+ 7017th official · 15% in top towns | A− 7821st official · 27% in top towns |
| Schools | A+ 968th official · 31% in top towns | B− 4641st official · 17% in top towns | B+ 6611th official · 15% in top towns | B 6424th official · 14% in top towns | A− 8416th official · 29% in top towns |
| Cost of living | B− 4836th official · 32% in top towns | B 6031st official · 41% in top towns | B− 4634th official · 24% in top towns | B+ 6830th official · 64% in top towns | C 2846th official · 14% in top towns |
| Health | B 5615th official · 11% in top towns | B− 4632nd official · 21% in top towns | A− 826th official · 33% in top towns | B 6415th official · 16% in top towns | B+ 6825th official · 30% in top towns |
| Housing | B− 4822nd official · 7% in top towns | A+ 1003rd official · 28% in top towns | A 927th official · 21% in top towns | B− 4611th official · 1% in top towns | B+ 7430th official · 23% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | A 945th official · 74% in top towns | A 923rd official · 59% in top towns | B 6416th official · 13% in top towns | B+ 7018th official · 21% in top towns | B 5819th official · 12% in top towns |
| Commute | A− 8011th official · 53% in top towns | B− 4822nd official · 27% in top towns | B+ 7414th official · 44% in top towns | A 908th official · 94% in top towns | D 1443rd official · 13% in top towns |
| Growth | C+ 3635th official · 18% in top towns | D 647th official · 10% in top towns | B 6020th official · 28% in top towns | B− 5229th official · 28% in top towns | D− 249th official · 2% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work