Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rhinelander gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $266K, 3.8 years of the county’s $69K median household income. It grades B overall, 226th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. 42% of working residents work locally in Rhinelander, above both the Wisconsin town median (8.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Rhinelander has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them First National Bank and Oneida County Courthouse.
Where Rhinelander beats most towns.
Where Rhinelander’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 Rhinelander is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,658 in 1890, 8,285 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 2 maps from 1966 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rhinelander, 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 Rhinelander.
Rhinelander draws workers from Pelican and beyond, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
7,312 jobs are based in Rhinelander, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.9 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
Rhinelander’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Pelican (3%), Wausau (3%) and Minocqua (3%). Rhinelander’s median household income is $51,000.
| Rhinelander | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Rhinelander School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Rhinelander High, with 757 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Williams MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 454 | C |
| Rhinelander HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 757 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 6,277 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rhinelander’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from Pine Lake (B−) to Newbold (B−).
26% of Rhinelander adults have been diagnosed with depression. Rhinelander beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 13% of Rhinelander adults have diabetes.
| Rhinelander | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Rhinelander | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.6% | 9.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 16.9% | 13.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Typical home values rose 8.3% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Rhinelander is $804 a month.
| Rhinelander | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $804 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Rhinelander Wjfw Tv-12 weather station records that 82 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 77.8°, cooler than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 3.4°.
Rhinelander has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| Rhinelander | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 3°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 78°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.0 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Hodag Park, at 37 acres.
| Rhinelander | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.1% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hodag Park | 0.5 mi | 37 |
| 2. Pioneer Park | — | 20 |
| 3. West Side Park | 0.1 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 18.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 66% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes rose from 102 to 132 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rhinelander
About 4 of every 100 Rhinelander residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
4 places in Rhinelander on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Rhinelander.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Rhinelander is a city in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 8,285 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Rhinelander.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Pelican (B−) comes closest.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhinelander | #226 | B | A− | B− | C+ | C |
| Crescent | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Pelican | #255 | B− | A− | — | C+ | B− |
| Pine Lake | #284 | C+ | B | — | C+ | B− |
| Newbold | #297 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | B− |
Crescent has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Crescent, Pelican, Pine Lake and Newbold report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Rhinelander with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Rhinelander grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #226 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools.
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 A−.
18 notable people were born here, including Dale Wasserman and Justin Orvel Schmidt.
