Rand's Lanes Bowl sign, 1988
Rice Lake’s story
Rice Lake in pictures
Census counts: 362 in 1880, 9,040 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 2 maps from 1965 on.
Explore the history →Town of Rice LakeWI
The town, home to 2,897 people, lies in Wisconsin.
Population
2,897
2025 Census estimate · +3.5% since 2020
Median home value
$237K
Census ACS
Household income
$88K
median
Median age
48.9
years
Jobs based here
248
A commuter town
TownGrade
B+
#144 of 357 in WI
Is Rice Lake a good place to live?
On incomes it is strong (A−): the median household earns $88K. Homes run about $237K for a typical one, 3.6 times the Rice Lake area’s $66K median household income. Schools are another plus: its public schools beat just over two thirds of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation. The overall grade comes out at B+, better than three quarters of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 144th of 357 in Wisconsin. On civic life, just 57 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns do worse. The town’s average commute is 14 minutes, against 22 minutes in Wisconsin’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Only 3 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Rice Lake.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · Census LEHD, 2023.
What makes Rice Lake stand out
Where Rice Lake beats most towns.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Rice Lake for work
Where Rice Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
248jobs based in Rice Lake
1%of working residents work in town
12 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Rice Lake grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Rice Lake is from typical.
Hazard riskCold waves top the listAOpen →Jobs & incomeIncomes and work are among the strongest comparedA−Open →SchoolsBeat 68% of Wisconsin districts on tests and graduationB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.4 of 20; 1.5% of households have no car; 4.7% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →HealthMarshfield Medical Center - Rice Lake 2.3 miles awayC+Open →Cost of livingAbout average among the towns comparedB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors10 miles of trails; 1% conserved landCOpen →History16 notable people born hereCOpen →Civic life0 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsDOpen →
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 Rice Lake: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rice Lake, and how to reach them.
PowerBarron Electric Coop16.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterRice Lake WaterworksNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers96% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Rice Lake’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 Rice Lake ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2026
ZIP code5486854868 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 Rice Lake.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A
Natural hazards: very low risk in Rice Lake, mostly cold waves
Rice Lake’s natural-hazard score from FEMA is 10 of 100. FEMA puts 46% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 26% to inland flooding. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2001.
10risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesInland floodingTornadoes
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−
In Rice Lake, the average trip to work runs shorter than in the typical Wisconsin or U.S. town
Rice Lake has 248 jobs for its 1,350 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 14 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
Rice Lake: 2.8% of residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Rice Lake grew to 248 in 2023, 40 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Rice Lake (35%), Barron (7%) and Eau Claire (6%). Just 1% of the town’s working residents have a job in town.
1%work in town
| Rice Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.8% | 8.4% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Rice Lake1%
Rice Lake35%
Barron7%
Eau Claire6%
Cameron3%
12 mi
median commute distance
248
jobs based in Rice Lake
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
OutdoorsC
1.4% of Rice Lake is conserved land
Across 1 park or preserve: 9.7 miles of trail. Rice Lake’s concentration of trails stands at 0.4 miles per square mile.
#174for trails in WI
| Rice Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
1.4%
conserved · 234 of 17,231 acres
9.7 mi
of trails · 0.4 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hiawatha Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Who lives here
Fewer young adults than Wisconsin overall
Adults 18 to 34 are just over one in ten residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (19% statewide). In Rice Lake, the age of the median resident is 48.9 years. The town is growing: up 3.5% since 2020, to 2,897 residents (2025 estimate). College graduates make up 30% of adults 25 and older, against 33% across Wisconsin.
48.9median age · WI 40.2
| Rice Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.9 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 20% | 18% |
Rice LakeWisconsinUnited States
Ages · share of residents
20%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma2%
High school31%
Some college16%
Associate’s21%
Bachelor’s15%
Graduate15%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.7 points). Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Rice Lake | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.9% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.5% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.4% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.3% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.9% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.9% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 21.2% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.2% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.5% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,900, single groups can be off by several points
53″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter6–25°
Spring30–53°
Summer55–78°
Fall35–55°
Oct 2
typical first frost
May 8
typical last frost
+1.3°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthC+
Rice Lake is less healthy than 56% of U.S. towns
Nearly a third of adults sleep under 7 hours in Rice Lake. Among adults in the town, 19% binge drink and 13% have diabetes.
44%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Rice Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
0 better27 too close to call5 worse
| What stands out | Rice Lake | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.1% | 6.5% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8% | 6.6% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4% | 3.4% |
Marshfield Medical Center - Rice Lake
2.3 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
19th
percentile among WI towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Rice Lake
19pages on Rice Lake
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rice Lake
About 1 of every 100 Rice Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
Famous people from Rice Lake
16 notable people were born in Rice Lake.
About Rice Lake
City in Wisconsin, United States
Rice Lake is a city in Barron County in northwestern Wisconsin, United States, on the shore of the lake with the same name. The city is a commercial and tourist center for the surrounding rural areas. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 9,040. The city is located mostly within the Town of Rice Lake.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 9.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,148 ft
- ZIP code
- 54868
Rice Lake’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Rice Lake.
Rice LakeOak GroveStanleyDoyleStanfoldRice Lake
How the neighbors grade
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice Lake | #144 | B+ | B− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Rice Lake | #309 | C+ | C+ | C | B+ | C+ |
| Oak Grove | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stanley | — | — | B− | — | B | B− |
| Doyle | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stanfold | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Stanley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Rice Lake and Stanley report no FBI crime data of their own. Oak Grove, Doyle and Stanfold aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rice Lake with a neighbor →
Questions about Rice Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Rice Lake, WI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Rice Lake grades B+ overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #144 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C+ for health and B+ for schools.
Is Rice Lake, 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 B−.