Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stevens Point's standout: it has 44 miles of trail. Overall it grades B, 212th of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin. It is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 14 places on the National Register. 41% of working residents work locally in Stevens Point, against 8.2% in Wisconsin’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On history, just 26 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better. Stevens Point is home to University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Where Stevens Point beats most towns.
David McMillan House
Census counts: 1,538 in 1860, 25,666 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and a map from 1970 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Stevens Point is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stevens Point, 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 Stevens Point.
Stevens Point is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Plover and beyond and has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Wisconsin.
At 2.4 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #3 of 287 Wisconsin towns.
The trail density in Stevens Point is 2.4 miles per square mile. Schmeeckle Reserve, at 289 acres with 6.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 7.4% of the land in Stevens Point is conserved.
| Stevens Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.4% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Schmeeckle Reserve | 6.7 mi | 289 |
| 2. Iverson Park | 3.1 mi | 144 |
| 3. Zenoff Park | 0.8 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Stevens Point Area Public School District. Three of its 17 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 443 | B |
| Stevens Point Area Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 1,478 | C+ |
| Bannach ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 368 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
20,105 jobs are based in Stevens Point, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Stevens Point’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Plover (8%), Wausau (4%) and Wisconsin Rapids (3%). Stevens Point’s median household income is $58,000.
| Stevens Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
20.9% of residents are enrolled in college, against 5.8% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
15% of residents are under 18 in Stevens Point. Only 4 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower median age than Stevens Point. 14% of residents are 65 or older in Stevens Point.
| Stevens Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 28.4 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 32% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 28.2, men 28.5.
| Stevens Point | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 30.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.5% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 6.4% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.6% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.9% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.2% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.7% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.2% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 8,347 U.S. towns with household incomes like Stevens Point’s, it is healthier than 93%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Stevens Point beats the Wisconsin average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 25% of Stevens Point adults have high blood pressure. Among 357 Wisconsin towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Stevens Point.
| Stevens Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 33% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Stevens Point | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.3% | 11.4% |
| Fewer adults with high blood pressure | 25.4% | 33.3% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8.5% | 6.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Stevens Point has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 7° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 52% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Stevens Point home is worth about $286,000, up 7.9% in a year, 15% below the Wisconsin typical home.
| Stevens Point | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $890 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stevens Point.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Stevens Point
College town 21 of every 100 Stevens Point residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
7.4% of the town is conserved land, across 40 parks and preserves.
14 places in Stevens Point on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Stevens Point.
City in Portage County, Wisconsin
Stevens Point is a city in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 25,666 at the 2020 census. It forms the core of the Stevens Point micropolitan statistical area, which had a population of 70,377 in 2020. Stevens Point was incorporated in 1858. The city is home to the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and a campus of Mid-State Technical College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Stevens Point.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stevens Point | #212 | B | B− | B | B− | B+ |
| Hull | #181 | B+ | B | — | B− | A− |
| Whiting | — | — | A− | — | B− | A− |
| Plover | — | — | B | — | B− | B+ |
| Plover | #228 | B | B− | B | B− | A− |
| Stockton | #156 | B+ | B+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Linwood | — | — | B− | — | B− | B+ |
Whiting, Plover and Linwood have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hull, Whiting, Plover, Stockton and Linwood report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Stevens Point with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Stevens Point grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #212 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B− for schools.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($76,070 across the Stevens Point-Plover, WI area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
29 notable people were born here, including Peter Weller and Garrett Weber-Gale.
