Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Summit grades A overall, 77th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns. The median household earns $141K. Its schools outperform 89% of the state's and residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $773K, 9.9 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. Summit’s median household income is $141,000, against $87,000 in Wisconsin’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Of the 263 Wisconsin towns we compare, none has a higher midpoint home value than Summit. Summit has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Gustave Pabst Estate and George N. Cobb House.
Where Summit beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Summit is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,999 in 2000, 4,784 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers and 4 maps from 1892 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Summit, 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 Summit.
Summit has less food insecurity than most of Wisconsin and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Wisconsin.
At 9.9 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income, the typical home (about $773K) costs more against local pay than in any other Wisconsin town; that ratio is one input to that grade.
On the market in Summit: a median 58 days to sell. Typical home values rose 7.9% in the year to September 2026. Just over nine in ten households live in a home they own locally. A typical home here is worth about $773,000, up 7.9% in a year, more than twice the Wisconsin typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
That grade comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $773K.
One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Enrollment at Summit’s public school: 211 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adeline Montessori School IncLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 211 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Wisconsin is food insecurity: 6% of its 3,810 adults worry about having enough food, against 12.1% statewide. Against the 3,501 U.S. towns with household incomes like Summit’s, it is healthier than 58%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Among adults in Summit, 29% sleep under 7 hours. Only 2 of the 357 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Summit. The town does better than the Wisconsin average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 2.
| Summit | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Summit | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6% | 12.1% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.4% | 8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 52 to 32 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Summit’s violent crime rate comes in at 0.4 per 1,000 residents. Its level of property crime comes in at 5.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Summit | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.5 per 1,000 residents | 6.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Oconomowoc Wwtp weather station records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 79% of Wisconsin places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 80% of Wisconsin places with climate records; January nights average 11.9°.
The January low here is 12°F.
| Summit | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 12°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest park or preserve is Perkins Wildlife Area, at 215 acres. There are 5.0 miles of trail across 7 parks and preserves. For Summit, the density of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Summit | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station | 0.4 mi | 10 |
| 2. Perkins Wildlife Area | — | 215 |
| 3. Genesee Lake Road Park | — | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Summit. FEMA puts 64% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 14% to tornadoes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Summit rose by 688, to 3,265. Most people who work leave Summit to do it: just 3% work in town. In Summit, 5% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Milwaukee (10%), Waukesha (10%) and Oconomowoc (9%).
| Summit | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.1% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
3 within 15 miles of the center of Summit
About 7 of every 100 Summit residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
3 places in Summit on the National Register of Historic Places.
Village in Wisconsin, United States
Summit is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,784 at the 2020 census. The former unincorporated communities of Summit Center, Summit Corners, and Waterville are located in the village.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Summit.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit | #77 | A | C− | A− | A | A |
| Dousman | #78 | A | C− | — | A | A− |
| Oconomowoc | #62 | A | D | A | A | A− |
| Delafield | #114 | A− | D | B | A | A |
| Oconomowoc Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ottawa | #60 | A | C+ | — | A | A− |
| Concord | — | — | B− | — | A− | B+ |
Concord has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Dousman, Ottawa and Concord report no FBI crime data of their own. Oconomowoc Lake isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Summit with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Summit grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #77 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
