Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,408. Public schools that outperform most of Wisconsin.
For most people who can afford it, yes. St. Joseph grades B+ overall, ranked 170th of 357 in Wisconsin. The median household earns $113K. Its public schools beat 85% of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation and residents are healthier than 81% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $510K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. St. Joseph’s median age is 51.5 years, above both Wisconsin’s towns (42.1 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Willow River State Park, at 1,769 acres with 9.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 79% of U.S. towns.
Where St. Joseph beats most towns.
Where St. Joseph’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far St. Joseph is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,436 in 2000, 4,178 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 2 maps from 1948 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Joseph, 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. Joseph.
St. Joseph sends many workers across the state line to St. Paul, owes part of its health edge to its incomes and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $510K.
Its public schools are run by the Hudson School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houlton ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 217 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,701 U.S. towns with household incomes like St. Joseph’s, it is healthier than 64%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
21% of adults binge drink in St. Joseph. Joseph beats the Wisconsin average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of adults feel lonely in St. Joseph.
| St. Joseph | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | St. Joseph | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.6% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
29% of working residents cross a state line to work, St. Paul among the top destinations. St. Joseph has 495 jobs for its 2,121 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave St. The median household income in St. Joseph is $113,000. Since 2013, St. Joseph has added 187 jobs, to 495 in 2023.
| St. Joseph | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $113,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.6% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.9% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| St. Joseph | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.7% | 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. Willow River State Park | 9.8 mi | 1,769 |
| 2. Homestead Parklands on Perch Lake | 0.8 mi | 84 |
| 3. Willow River Wildlife Area | — | 120 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons average 81.9°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 75% of Wisconsin places with climate records; January nights average 5.9°.
St. Joseph’s January low is 6°F. Joseph has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 50 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| St. Joseph | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 6°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $6,412, against $3,792 across Wisconsin, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
93% of St. Joseph households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. Joseph. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
21 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
27 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
29 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
24 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
21 mi MuseumMinnesota State CapitolU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Allianz Field: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 · Minnesota State Capitol: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of St. Joseph
About 2 of every 100 St. Joseph residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
Town in Wisconsin, United States
St. Joseph is a town in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,178 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Burkhardt, and Houlton are located in the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with St. Joseph.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph | #170 | B+ | D | — | A | A− |
| Houlton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Somerset | #72 | A | C | — | B+ | A− |
| Richmond | #238 | B− | C | — | A− | B+ |
| Hudson | #82 | A | C | — | A | A− |
| Warren | — | — | B | — | B− | B+ |
Warren has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. St. Joseph, Somerset, Richmond, Hudson and Warren report no FBI crime data of their own. Houlton isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare St. Joseph with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. St. Joseph grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #170 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A− for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $510,000, 51% above the Wisconsin typical home. Paul-Bloomington, MN-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 D.
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