RomeWI
A town of 3,420.
Is Rome a good place to live?
Rome grades D overall, ranked 347th of 357 in Wisconsin, mostly because of schools. Its public schools trail 97% of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation. One bright spot: it reports less crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. Rome’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 22 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 12 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score lower on cost of living. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 76% of U.S. towns.
What makes Rome stand out
Where Rome beats most towns.
Rome has grown 26% since 2010
2,720 counted in 2010 and 3,025 in 2020; an estimated 3,420 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13% since 2020, after 11.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Rome grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Rome is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Rome: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rome, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Rome.
Rome is a second-home town and has fewer 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Wisconsin (mostly inland flooding).
Rome stands out in Wisconsin and nationally: a smaller share of its residents are under 18
46.6% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 6.2% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
8.6% of residents are under 18 in Rome. No town among the 362 in Wisconsin we compare has a higher median age than Rome. Rome has grown 13% since 2020, to 3,420 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Rome | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 8.6% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 64.5 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 32% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Rome | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.3% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.3% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.8% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 3.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.7% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 29.1% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.9% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.7% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.4% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.9% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,400, single groups can be off by several points
14.7% of Rome is conserved land
66 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in Rome is 1.1 miles per square mile. Dyracuse Recreational Area, at 174 acres with 4.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dyracuse Recreational Area | 4.8 mi | 174 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| Rome | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 6.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Rome has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The average commute for its 1,214 working residents takes 36.6 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin. Jobs based here grew from 354 in 2013 to 575.
Since 2013, Rome has added 221 jobs, to 575 in 2023. 4.7% of Rome residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Wisconsin Rapids (14%), Stevens Point (5%) and Nekoosa (3%).
| Rome | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Rome has snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Hancock Exp Farm weather station, 15 miles away, records that about 7 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 81% of Wisconsin places with climate records.
Rome has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 7° and about 43 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
High risk in Rome, with inland flooding at the top
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of Wisconsin towns, with expected losses of about $1,186 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2010, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rome.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A larger share of adults in Rome have diabetes than in the typical Wisconsin or U.S. town
Among 357 Wisconsin towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Rome. Rome beats the Wisconsin average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12.
| Rome | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rome | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.9% | 77.8% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 88.3% | 85.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.1% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes in Rome sell for about $503K
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Rome
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rome
About 2 of every 100 Rome residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
87% of working residents leave Rome for work
Where Rome’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Rome’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Rome.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | #347 | D | D | A− | D− | C+ |
| Armenia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Leola | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Saratoga | #330 | C | B+ | — | C− | B− |
| Big Flats | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Monroe | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Colburn | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Port Edwards | — | — | A− | — | D− | C |
Port Edwards has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Saratoga and Port Edwards report no FBI crime data of their own. Armenia, Leola, Big Flats, Monroe and Colburn aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rome with a neighbor →
Questions about Rome
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Rome, WI a good place to live?
Rome grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #347 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C+ for health, A− for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Rome, WI expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $294,000, 13% below the Wisconsin typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.