Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Superior gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $234K, 3.3 years of the Duluth metro’s $72K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 294th of 357 in Wisconsin. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. 41% of working residents work locally in Superior, against 8.2% in Wisconsin’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Superior has 15 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them METEOR (whaleback carrier) (Boundary Decrease) and Martin Pattison House. No town among the 362 in Wisconsin we compare has a lower July high than Superior.
Where Superior beats most towns.
Census counts: 11,983 in 1890, a peak of 40,384 in 1910, 26,751 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1886 and 5 maps from 1954 on.
15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Superior is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Superior, 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 Superior.
Superior sends many workers across the state line to Duluth, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s.
32 miles of trail in 26 parks and preserves. Superior Municipal Forest, at 4,718 acres with 4.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Superior’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Superior | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Superior Municipal Forest | 4.2 mi | 4,718 |
| 2. Wisconsin Point | 2.6 mi | 301 |
| 3. Central Park | 0.5 mi | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Superior School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 888 | C |
| Superior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,256 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
61% of Superior households own their home. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Superior is $900 a month.
| Superior | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $900 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 43% | 39% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 29.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 89% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons average 75.9°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 5.7°.
Superior has cold, snowy winters and cool summers. About 56 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
33% of working residents cross a state line to work, Duluth among the top destinations. The average commute for its 12,050 working residents takes 16.1 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
13% of residents live below the poverty line in Superior. Since 2013, Superior has added 700 jobs, to 13,473 in 2023. The top destinations are Duluth (28%), Hermantown (2%) and Cloquet (2%).
| Superior | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.7% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Superior since 2020.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Wisconsin average. 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Wisconsin.
| Superior | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.1 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 20% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1 point). Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.3, men 38.9.
| Superior | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.3% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.5% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.5% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.9% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.7% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.3% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 9,765 U.S. towns with household incomes like Superior’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Superior beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Superior | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Superior | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.3% | 9.9% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 17.5% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 83.8% | 85.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Superior. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Zoo & aquariumGreat Lakes Aquarium
6 mi MuseumLake Superior Railroad Museum
in town MuseumFairlawn Mansion
6 mi MuseumDuluth Depot6 mi Zoo & aquariumLake Superior Zoo
6 mi MuseumLake Superior Maritime Visitor CenterGreat Lakes Aquarium: Tmajewski, Public domain · Lake Superior Railroad Museum: User resedabear on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Fairlawn Mansion: Nfarmakes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Duluth Depot: Hikki Nagasaki, Public domain · Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Superior
About 7 of every 100 Superior residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
15 places in Superior on the National Register of Historic Places.
36 notable people were born in Superior.
City and county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin
Superior is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 census. Superior and nearby Duluth, Minnesota, sit at the western tip of Lake Superior and together form the Twin Ports, a major Great Lakes harbor. Bordered by Saint Louis, Superior, and Allouez bays, the city is framed by two rivers: the Nemadji and the Saint Louis. Superior is at the junction of U.S. Route 2 and U.S. Route 53 immediately north of, and adjacent to, both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior. It is an industrial city, with ship harbors along two sides, several large rail yards, an oil refinery, and a shipyard. Superior and neighboring Duluth…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Superior.
Parkland and Superior have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Parkland and Superior report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Superior with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Superior grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #294 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B− for health, C for safety and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
36 notable people were born here, including Oliver E. Williamson and Jeffrey Williams.
