Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sauk City is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 270th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $91K. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $371K, 4.7 years of the Baraboo area’s $80K median household income. On hazard risk, just 29 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Freethinkers` Hall and August W. Derleth House. Only 51 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score higher on walkability.
Where Sauk City beats most towns.
Freethinkers` Hall
Census counts: 917 in 1880, 3,518 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 4 maps from 1895 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Sauk City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sauk City, 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 Sauk City.
Sauk City 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).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Wisconsin towns; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
At 77 of 100, Sauk City’s FEMA risk score is above both the Wisconsin town median (23 of 100) and the median of U.S. towns (44 of 100).
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Sauk Prairie School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Prairie MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 595 | C+ |
| Shoreless Lake School Wisconsin PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 7–10 | Grades 7–10 | 11 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
The Baraboo weather station, 13 miles away, records that about 11 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 82% of Wisconsin places with climate records. January nights average 10.4°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 77% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 83.2°.
Sauk City has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. At 10°F, Sauk City’s January low is against 11°F in Wisconsin’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. Only 7 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a higher July high than Sauk City.
| Sauk City | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 10°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Sauk City for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Madison (24%), Prairie du Sac (11%) and Middleton (5%). Half commute less than 19 miles.
| Sauk City | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.4% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Sauk City beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of Sauk City adults binge drink.
| Sauk City | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Sauk City | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Sauk City home is worth about $371,000, up 1.3% in a year, 10% above the Wisconsin typical home.
| Sauk City | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 70% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,121 a month | $1,076 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Wisconsin average. Sauk City has lost 2.2% of its people since 2020, down to 3,439 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Wisconsin.
| Sauk City | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 38.6 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 20% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Sauk City | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.9% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.9% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.7% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.1% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.8% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.9% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.3% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.6% | 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
0.4 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Sauk Prairie Riverfront Park, at 47 acres.
| Sauk City | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sauk Prairie Riverfront Park | — | 47 |
| 2. Jaycee Athletic Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Sauk City Historic Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sauk City. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Stadium & arenaCamp Randall Stadium
11 mi Park & preserveIce Age Trail
10 mi State parkDevil's Lake State Park
26 mi Canyon & gorgeDells of the Wisconsin River
22 mi Stadium & arenaKohl Center23 mi Theme parkNoah's Ark Water ParkCamp Randall Stadium: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Ice Age Trail: MDuchek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Devil's Lake State Park: CrispAir at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · Dells of the Wisconsin River: atramos, CC BY 2.0 · Kohl Center: Pbrown111 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Sauk City; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Sauk City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
7 places in Sauk City on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Sauk City.
Village in Wisconsin, United States
Sauk City is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Wisconsin River. The population was 3,518 as of the 2020 census. The first incorporated village in the state, the community was founded by Agoston Haraszthy and his business partner, Robert Bryant in the 1840s.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Sauk City.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk City | #270 | B− | C | — | B− | B |
| Prairie du Sac | — | — | B− | — | B− | B+ |
| Mazomanie | — | — | C | — | A | A− |
| Roxbury | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
Prairie du Sac, Mazomanie and Roxbury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Sauk City, Prairie du Sac, Mazomanie and Roxbury report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sauk City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sauk City grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #270 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
3 notable people were born here, including August Derleth and Alfred C. Clas.
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