Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,876, settled in 1881.
Stanley gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $242K, 3.2 years of the Eau Claire metro’s $75K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 178th of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $48K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, its public schools beat 77% of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation. 20% of residents live below the poverty line in Stanley, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 6.3% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On walkability, just 32 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better. Stanley has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them L.I. Roe House.
Where Stanley beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Stanley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,387 in 1900, 3,804 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stanley, 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 Stanley.
Stanley pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
2.0 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Chapman Park, at 60 acres.
| Stanley | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mahr's Disc Golf | 1.2 mi | 34 |
| 2. Chapman Park | 0.1 mi | 60 |
| 3. Fandry Park | 0.1 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $242K.
Its public schools are run by the Stanley-Boyd Area School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Stanley-Boyd High, with 341 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanley ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 437 | A |
| Stanley-Boyd HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 341 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $242K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 26 miles. The median property tax bill is $1,492, against $3,792 across Wisconsin, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
53% of households own their home in Stanley. Typical home values rose 5% in the year to September 2026. Stanley’s median rent is $723 a month.
| Stanley | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $723 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 5,037 U.S. towns with household incomes like Stanley’s, it is healthier than 68%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
23% of Stanley adults binge drink. Among 357 Wisconsin towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Stanley. 31% of Stanley adults get no exercise outside work.
| Stanley | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 20% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 78% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Stanley | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.4% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 22.8% | 26.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.5% | 5.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Stanley has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Stanley is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 6 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower median household income than Stanley. Jobs based in Stanley fell to 942 in 2023, 149 fewer than in 2013. Most working residents leave Stanley for work: only 10% work in town.
| Stanley | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $48,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.7% | 8.2% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 18.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Stanley; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Stanley residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
2 places in Stanley on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Stanley.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Stanley is a city in Chippewa and Clark counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,804 at the 2020 census. Of this, 3,804 were in Chippewa County, and none were in Clark County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Stanley.
Delmar has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Delmar reports no FBI crime data of its own. Thorp isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Stanley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Stanley grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #178 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C for health, B− for safety and A− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
5 notable people were born here, including Dave Cahill and Robert Whitney Burns.
