Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, settled in 1882, counts 8,955 residents.
The weak point is schools — its public schools trail just over three quarters of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation. Cost of living is weaker too: the typical home is worth about $281K, 3.6 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. Also worth knowing: its best grade is for hazard risk (A+). It also does well on walkability — it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. All told, that adds up to a B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns. That places it 272nd of 357 in Wisconsin. St. Francis’ density of trails is 2.2 miles per square mile, above both Wisconsin’s towns (0.4) and U.S. towns (0.4). Henni Hall and TRANSFER (self-unloading barge) Shipwreck is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap · National Register of Historic Places.
Where St. Francis beats most towns.
15.9% 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 St. Francis is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 10,065 in 1960, 9,161 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1855 and 4 maps from 1891 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. Francis. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
5 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
5 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
5 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
5 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
5 mi City parkMitchell Park Horticultural ConservatoryFiserv Forum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 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 · Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory: Sulfur (Talk / contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Francis, 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 St. Francis.
St. Francis has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Wisconsin, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
Count the trails in 5 parks and preserves and they come to 5.7 miles. The biggest park or preserve is Greene Park, at 37 acres. Parks and preserves in St. Francis: 5, covering 98 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greene Park | 0.8 mi | 37 |
| 2. Bay View Park | 0.1 mi | 29 |
| 3. Sheridan Park | — | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Saint Francis School District. Below: Two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. The largest public high school is Saint Francis High, with 543 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Creek IntermediateLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 300 | C |
| Saint Francis HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 543 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Households in St. Francis have drawn federal disaster aid in 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2026. FEMA puts 59% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 18% to inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 99% of U.S. communities.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.7% of working residents work locally in St. Francis. The top destinations are Milwaukee (38%), Wauwatosa (6%) and Oak Creek (4%). The middle household income for St. Francis comes to $57,000. Half the trips to work are shorter than 8 miles.
| St. Francis | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among 362 Wisconsin towns, just one has a lower share of children under 18 than St. Francis. Children under 18 are one in ten residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 49% of residents (38% statewide). St. Francis’ median age stands at 54.9 years. College graduates make up 31% of adults 25 and older, against 33% across Wisconsin.
| St. Francis | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 10% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 54.9 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 20% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| St. Francis | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.7% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 24.1% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.1% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.5% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.3% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.8% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 23% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.1% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.6% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Milwaukee Mitchell Ap weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 192 days, the highest of 2,050 Wisconsin places with climate records. The Milwaukee Mitchell Ap weather station records that about 9 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 81% of Wisconsin places with climate records.
In St. Francis, the midsummer high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At about $281K, home values are up 15% in five years, against a rise of 31% across Wisconsin.
St. Francis: 55% of households are owner-occupiers. Zillow values the typical St. Francis home at about $281,000, down 0.6% in a year, 17% below the Wisconsin typical home. A home in St. Francis typically sold within 43 days of listing.
| St. Francis | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,004 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 8,138 U.S. towns with household incomes like St. Francis’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in St. Francis who have diabetes: 12%. For adults in the town, the share who binge drink is 18%.
| St. Francis | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | St. Francis | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.1% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 16.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 56% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 131 to 83 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
St. Francis’ property offense rate comes in at 8.1 per 1,000 residents. The level of violent crime in the town is 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
| St. Francis | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.1 per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
14 within 15 miles of the center of St. Francis
About 5 of every 100 St. Francis residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
Where St. Francis’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Wisconsin, United States
St. Francis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,161 at the 2020 census. A suburb of Milwaukee along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with St. Francis.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis | #272 | B− | C | B | C− | B |
| Milwaukee | #357 | D− | C+ | D− | D− | D |
| Cudahy | #256 | B− | C+ | B | D | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
St. Francis grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #272 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B for health, B for safety and C− for schools. Schools 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.
2 notable people were born here, including Leo Joseph Brust and Jose Valdez.
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