Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,693, settled in 1853. 2.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Trash day: look up yoursShawano gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $260K for a typical one, or 3.9 years of the Shawano area’s $66K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 321st of 357 in Wisconsin. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 79% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, 10% of its land is conserved. 28% of working residents work locally in Shawano, against 8.2% in Wisconsin’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 49 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns do better. Shawano has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Shawano Post Office and Lincoln School.
Where Shawano beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Shawano is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 890 in 1880, 9,243 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1925 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shawano, 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 Shawano.
Shawano trades workers with Menominee and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
In Shawano, 32% of adults get no exercise outside work. 16% of adults report frequent physical distress locally.
| Shawano | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Shawano | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.8% | 12.1% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.3% | 6.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.6% | 5.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Two of the 7 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by the Shawano School District. 4 public schools serve Shawano, with 1,377 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcrest Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 472 | – |
| Shawano HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 702 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
The biggest park or preserve is Eberlein Park, at 41 acres. Across 19 parks and preserves: 2.2 miles of trail. Shawano’s trail network density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Shawano | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.8% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kuckuk Park | 0.4 mi | 14 |
| 2. Eberlein Park | — | 41 |
| 3. Memorial Park | — | 38 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Home values are up 8.2% over the year to September 2026. In Shawano, the typical rent is $819 a month. The share of households in Shawano who live in a home they own: 57%.
| Shawano | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $819 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Shawano has about as many jobs (5,286) as working residents, but only 1,283 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 15.5 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
The top destinations are Menominee (9%), Green Bay (5%) and Appleton (3%). Shawano’s typical journey to work stands at 16 minutes. Half the trips to work are shorter than 17 miles. 15% of Shawano residents live below the poverty line.
| Shawano | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims in Shawano since 2019: one.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 20.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 72% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
The level of property crime in Shawano is 15.4 per 1,000 residents. The rate of reported violence locally is 1.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Shawano | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.4 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Shawano
About 2 of every 100 Shawano residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
3 places in Shawano on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Shawano.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Shawano ( SHAW-noh) is a city and the county seat of Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,243 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Shawano.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawano | #321 | C | B | B− | C | C− |
| Wescott | #355 | D− | C | — | C | C |
| Waukechon | — | — | B− | — | C | C |
| Richmond | — | — | B− | — | C | C |
| Belle Plaine | — | — | C− | — | C | C |
Waukechon, Richmond and Belle Plaine have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wescott, Waukechon, Richmond and Belle Plaine report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Shawano with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Shawano grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #321 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C− for health, B− for safety and C for schools. Health 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 B.
6 notable people were born here, including Billy Reed and Lee Remmel.
