Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Waukesha grades B+ overall, 184th of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin. Natural-hazard risk is low. The median household earns $84K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 78% of the country. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $420K, 5.4 years of the Milwaukee metro’s $78K median household income. Its National Register listings include Sen. William Blair House and First Baptist Church. Only 53 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score higher on walkability. Waukesha is home to Carroll University.
Where Waukesha beats most towns.
Lain-Estburg House
Its 67 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Wisconsin towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,456 in 1860, 71,158 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1841 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Waukesha is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waukesha. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
18 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
17 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
21 mi TheatreAlpine Valley Music Theatre
17 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
17 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a yearFiserv Forum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Milwaukee Art Museum: Michael Hicks (Mulad), CC BY 2.0 · UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena: Shadowlink1014, Public domain · Alpine Valley Music Theatre: chad davis, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waukesha, 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 Waukesha.
Waukesha trades workers with Milwaukee and other neighbors, is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 93% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waukesha.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Waukesha School District. Three of its 30 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 786 | B− |
| West HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,167 | B |
| White Rock SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 286 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
22% of Waukesha adults binge drink, above both the Wisconsin town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). Waukesha beats the Wisconsin average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 15% of Waukesha adults report frequent mental distress.
| Waukesha | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Waukesha | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.6% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5.2% | 6.5% |
| More binge drinkers | 21.9% | 19% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In the comparison, Waukesha comes above both Wisconsin’s towns (3.8%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). 9.4 miles of trail in 40 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Rivers Crossing Park, at 91 acres.
| Waukesha | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frame Park | 0.9 mi | 58 |
| 2. Glacier Cone Park | 0.7 mi | 27 |
| 3. Minooka County Park | 0.6 mi | 78 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
59% of households own their home in Waukesha. Typical home values rose 6.4% in the year to September 2026.
| Waukesha | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 74% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 49% | 39% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,219 a month | $1,076 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 12.5°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 93% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.8°.
Waukesha has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Waukesha is 13°F. About 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Waukesha | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 13°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Waukesha has about as many jobs (39,442) as working residents, but only 6,998 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Waukesha’s working residents works in town. Waukesha’s average trip to work is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Milwaukee (12%), Pewaukee (6%) and Brookfield (6%).
| Waukesha | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 9.8% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). 42% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Wisconsin.
| Waukesha | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 36.7 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.1 points). Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.7, men 36.8.
| Waukesha | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.3% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.4% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.1% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.5% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.2% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 14.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 51% of Wisconsin’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
12 within 15 miles of the center of Waukesha
About 8 of every 100 Waukesha residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
67 places in Waukesha on the National Register of Historic Places.
39 notable people were born in Waukesha.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Waukesha ( WAW-ki-shaw) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. Located along the Fox River adjacent to the Village of Waukesha, it is the seventh-most populous city in Wisconsin. Waukesha is also part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Waukesha.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukesha | #184 | B+ | C− | B | B− | A− |
| Waukesha | — | — | A | — | B− | — |
| Pewaukee | #139 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
| Brookfield | #146 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
Waukesha, Pewaukee and Brookfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Waukesha isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Waukesha with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Waukesha grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #184 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades A− for health, B for safety and B− 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−.
39 notable people were born here, including Les Paul and Vernor Vinge.
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