Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,177, settled in 1873. 3.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
The best of Sister Bay’s subject grades are an A for walkability and schools and an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a D for incomes. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Sister Bay, against 6.4% in Wisconsin’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 7 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score higher on hazard risk. The typical home is worth about $530K, 7.1 years of the county’s $75K median household income. No town in Wisconsin scores higher than Sister Bay on civic life. Jischke's Meat Market is on the National Register of Historic Places. On the outdoors, just 83 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. Sister Bay has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sister Bay beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Sister Bay is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 190 in 1920, 1,148 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1887 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sister Bay, 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 Sister Bay.
The top destinations are Gibraltar (20%), Sturgeon Bay (8%) and Liberty Grove (5%). Only 18% of working residents stay in Sister Bay for work; the rest commute out. Also worth knowing: its average commute is 13 minutes, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 22 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Jobs in Sister Bay grew by 121 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 664.
| Sister Bay | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
50% of households own their home in Sister Bay. Values rose 4.3% in the 12 months to September 2026. Its median rent stands at $1,168 a month.
| Sister Bay | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,168 a month | $1,078 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 98% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Sister Bay, 58% come from inland flooding and 28% from cold waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For adults 18 to 64 in Sister Bay, the share who have no health insurance is 5.7%. Of the 358 Wisconsin towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who binge drink than Sister Bay. The town beats the Wisconsin average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Sister Bay | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sister Bay | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.1% | 9.7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.8% | 12.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 15.1% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The seasons in Sister Bay: cold, snowy winters, pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 77°, January nights drop to 13° and about 62 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Sister Bay, the trail network density is 0.1 miles per square mile. There are 0.3 miles of trail across 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sister Bay Beach | 0.1 mi | 3 |
| 2. Marina Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Sister Bay; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Sister Bay residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
Where Sister Bay’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Village in Wisconsin, United States
Sister Bay is a village in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,148 at the 2020 census. It is situated along the shore of Green Bay on the Door Peninsula, a popular Upper Midwest vacation destination.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.