Is Round Lake a good place to live?
Round Lake’s best subject grade is an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. 39% of residents are 65 or older in Round Lake, above both Wisconsin’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (18%). Only 39 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score lower on cost of living. 55% of the land in Round Lake is conserved, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 3.8% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Sawyer County Forest, at 2,739 acres with 9.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Round Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,148 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Round Lake grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Round Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Round Lake: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Round Lake, 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 Round Lake.
Round Lake has set aside nearly a third of its land for conservation
54 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sawyer County Forest | 9.6 mi | 2,739 |
| 2. Chippewa Flowage | 0.1 mi | 301 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median age in Round Lake is higher than in the typical Wisconsin or U.S. town
Round Lake’s median age is 60.1 years. Round Lake has grown 5% since 2020, to 1,148 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 15% of residents are under 18 in Round Lake.
| Round Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 60.1 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 32% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Round Lake | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.1% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 24.3% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.3% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.7% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.8% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.5% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.2% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,100, single groups can be off by several points
Most of Round Lake’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Round Lake for work: only 8% work in town. The median household income in Round Lake is $62,000. The top destinations are Hayward (25%), Hayward (14%) and Eau Claire (4%).
| Round Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $62,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Round Lake stands out in Wisconsin and nationally: a larger share of its adults have diabetes
15% of Round Lake adults have diabetes. Among 358 Wisconsin towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Round Lake. 34% of Round Lake adults have obesity.
| Round Lake | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Round Lake | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 15.9% | 19% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.7% | 77.8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.1% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Round Lake, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Round Lake has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 78°, January nights drop to 1° and about 57 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Round Lake faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by cold waves
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Round Lake
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Round Lake
About 0 of every 100 Round Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
92% of working residents leave Round Lake for work
Where Round Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Round Lake
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Round Lake is a town in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,081 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 118 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,401 ft
Questions about Round Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Round Lake, WI expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $398,000. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.