Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More miles of trail than almost any town in Wisconsin.
Richland Center earns a D, 345th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its public schools trail 86% of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation. The median household income is $52K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it has 12 miles of trail. 36% of working residents work locally in Richland Center, against 8.2% in Wisconsin’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 85 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. Richland Center has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Richland Center City Auditorium and Court Street Commercial Historic District.
Where Richland Center beats most towns.
A. D. German Wholesale Company and Warehouse, Additional Documentation6.8% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Richland Center is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,227 in 1880, 5,114 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Richland Center, 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 Richland Center.
Richland Center has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Wisconsin and draws workers from Richland and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Wisconsin (mostly inland flooding).
At 2.6 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #2 of 287 Wisconsin towns.
The trail density in Richland Center is 2.6 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is North Park, at 80 acres.
| Richland Center | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Park | 0.7 mi | 80 |
| 2. Arboretum | 0.4 mi | 14 |
| 3. Krouskop Park | 0.2 mi | 33 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Richland School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Richland Center High, with 512 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland Center Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 301 | D |
| Richland Center HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 512 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
3,608 jobs are based in Richland Center, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Richland Center’s working residents works in town. Richland Center’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Since 2013, Richland Center has lost 224 jobs, to 3,608 in 2023.
| Richland Center | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 3 years of the county’s $66K median household income, the typical home (about $198K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Wisconsin towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
Only 9 of the 340 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower median rent than Richland Center. 51% of Richland Center households own their home. Typical home values rose 10% in the year to September 2026.
| Richland Center | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $683 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 6,437 U.S. towns with household incomes like Richland Center’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Richland Center beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 17% of adults smoke cigarettes in Richland Center.
| Richland Center | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Richland Center | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.6% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 16.9% | 13.6% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.2% | 3.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Richland Ctr weather station records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 77% of Wisconsin places with climate records. The Richland Ctr weather station records that about 9 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 78% of Wisconsin places with climate records.
Richland Center has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 10°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Richland Center's reported crime rate is below Wisconsin's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 6 violent crimes were reported in 2023.
| Richland Center | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 7.6 per 1,000 residents | 8.9 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Wisconsin towns, with expected losses of about $723 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Richland Center.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Richland Center; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Richland Center residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
Where Richland Center’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Richland Center on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Richland Center.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Richland Center is a city in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States and is the county seat. The population was 5,114 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Richland Center.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richland Center | #345 | D | B+ | — | D | C |
| Richland | — | — | C+ | — | C− | C |
Richland has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Richland Center and Richland report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Richland Center with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Richland Center grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #345 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C for health and D for schools. Schools 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+.
13 notable people were born here, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Raymond Leo Burke.
