Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
South Milwaukee's standout: it has 6 miles of trail. Overall it grades B−, 271st of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin. Natural-hazard risk is low and it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is schools: its schools rank behind 84% of the state's. 23% of the land in South Milwaukee is conserved, above both Wisconsin’s towns (3.8%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). South Milwaukee has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them LUMBERMAN shipwreck (schooner) and South Milwaukee Passenger Station. Only 2 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a higher January low than South Milwaukee.
Where South Milwaukee beats most towns.
22.8% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far South Milwaukee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,392 in 1900, 20,795 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 4 maps from 1891 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Milwaukee. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
Big draw38 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
9 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
9 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
9 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
9 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of WisconsinFiserv Forum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Milwaukee Art Museum: Michael Hicks (Mulad), CC BY 2.0 · UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena: Shadowlink1014, Public domain · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us · Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Milwaukee, 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 South Milwaukee.
South Milwaukee is one of Wisconsin’s best towns for the outdoors and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s; it also has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #11 of 362 in Wisconsin.
6.3 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. At 1.3 miles per square mile, South Milwaukee’s trail density is above both the Wisconsin town median (0.4) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Grant Park, at 371 acres with 3.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grant Park | 3.5 mi | 371 |
| 2. Oak Creek Parkway | 1.7 mi | 254 |
| 3. Rawson Park | 0.7 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the South Milwaukee School District. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Milwaukee MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 610 | C− |
| South Milwaukee HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 920 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in South Milwaukee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 5,273 in 2013 to 3,990.
Most working residents leave South Milwaukee for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, South Milwaukee has lost 1,283 jobs, to 3,990 in 2023. 13% of South Milwaukee residents live below the poverty line.
| South Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
South Milwaukee has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in South Milwaukee is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
South Milwaukee tracks Wisconsin closely on all 32 CDC measures. 18% of adults binge drink in South Milwaukee.
| South Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 32% | 36% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical South Milwaukee home is worth about $305,000, up 3.9% in a year, 10% below the Wisconsin typical home.
| South Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,014 a month | $1,080 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. South Milwaukee has lost 2.9% of its people since 2020, down to 20,191 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Wisconsin.
| South Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 40.2 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 21% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.9 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.8, men 38.9.
| South Milwaukee | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.9% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.7% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.9% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.8% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.4% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.9% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.5% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 17.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 62% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
11 within 15 miles of the center of South Milwaukee
About 5 of every 100 South Milwaukee residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
Where South Milwaukee’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in South Milwaukee on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in South Milwaukee.
City in Wisconsin, United States
South Milwaukee is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 20,795 at the 2020 census. Situated on the western shore of Lake Michigan, South Milwaukee developed as a streetcar suburb located 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Milwaukee.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with South Milwaukee.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Milwaukee | #271 | B− | C+ | B− | C− | B |
| Oak Creek | #176 | B+ | C− | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Cudahy | #256 | B− | C+ | B | D | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South Milwaukee grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #271 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B for health, B− for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3.9 years of the area's median household income ($78,218 across the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
6 notable people were born here, including Reginald Lisowski and Jackie Kashian.
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