Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,291.
Sun Prairie’s best subject grades are an A+ for incomes and an A for health; its weakest is a D for walkability. On incomes, just 24 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do better. Homes are expensive, about $374K for a typical one and 4.2 times the Madison metro’s $89K median household income. Only 26 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score lower on walkability. Only 42 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns score lower on civic life. McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park, at 286 acres with 6.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Sun Prairie has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sun Prairie beats most towns.
Where Sun Prairie’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 Sun Prairie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 626 in 1870, 35,967 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 5 maps from 1890 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sun Prairie. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Stadium & arenaCamp Randall Stadium
12 mi Stadium & arenaKohl Center
17 mi State parkAztalan State Park
34 mi Park & preserveIce Age Trail
9 mi GardenOlbrich Botanical Gardens
6 mi Theme parkLittle AmerrickaCamp Randall Stadium: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Kohl Center: Pbrown111 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Aztalan State Park: Joshua Mayer - Flickr user wackybadger, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ice Age Trail: MDuchek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Olbrich Botanical Gardens: Chief-O at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Little Amerricka: Dklompmaker, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sun Prairie, 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 Sun Prairie.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 93% of U.S. communities. Since 1991, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sun Prairie.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sun Prairie beats the Wisconsin average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 27% of adults have high blood pressure in Sun Prairie, against 33% in Wisconsin’s towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 21% of adults binge drink in Sun Prairie.
| Sun Prairie | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Sun Prairie | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.8% | 6.5% |
| Fewer adults getting a yearly checkup | 74.5% | 77.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Sun Prairie for work: only 2% work in town. At $127,000, Sun Prairie’s median household income is where Wisconsin’s towns sit at $87,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. 19% of Sun Prairie workers work from home.
| Sun Prairie | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $127,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 19% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Sun Prairie has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 11° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Sun Prairie | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 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. McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park | 6.7 mi | 286 |
| 2. Patrick Marsh Wildlife Area | — | 81 |
| 3. Sheehan Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
4 within 15 miles of the center of Sun Prairie
About 4 of every 100 Sun Prairie residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
5 notable people were born in Sun Prairie.
6 towns share a border with Sun Prairie.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Prairie | — | — | C | — | B | A |
| Sun Prairie | #149 | B+ | C− | B− | B | A |
| Cottage Grove | #86 | A− | D | A | B | A |
| Medina | — | — | C− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Cottage Grove | #275 | B− | D | — | B | A |
| Bristol | #96 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
| Burke | #49 | A | C+ | — | B+ | A |
Sun Prairie and Medina have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Sun Prairie, Medina, Cottage Grove, Bristol and Burke report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sun Prairie with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
.jpg){kind=link}
