Louis Marchetti House, 1878
Wausau’s story
Wausau in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1878.
Explore the history →
WausauWI
A town of 2,353.
4 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0
Population
2,353
2025 Census estimate · +8.4% since 2020
Median home value
$231K
Census ACS
Household income
$76K
median
Median age
49.8
years
Jobs based here
250
A commuter town
Is Wausau a good place to live?
Wausau’s weakest subject grade is a C for walkability. Only 44 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score lower on the outdoors. Wausau has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Wausau stand out
Where Wausau beats most towns.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Wausau for work
Where Wausau’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
250jobs based in Wausau
4%of working residents work in town
7 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Wausau grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Wausau is from typical.
Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 21% of U.S. communities; cold waves tops the listA−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6 of 20; 0.1% of households have no car; 1.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $231K, 3 years of the Wausau metro’s $78K median household incomeC+Open →SchoolsBehind 56% of Wisconsin districts on tests and graduationC+Open →HealthAspirus Wausau Hospital 6.2 miles awayB−Open →Jobs & income$76K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors2 miles of trailsDOpen →History35 notable people born hereC+Open →Civic life0 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
ClimateSnowy winters, 80° summer afternoons, 63″ of snow–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 49.8; 20% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Wausau: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wausau, and how to reach them.
PowerWisconsin Public Service17.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterWausau WaterworksNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers62% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Wausau’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Wisconsin you can register online until 20 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 20 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereTown of Wausau ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Apr 2026
ZIP code5440354403 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Wausau.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−
Low risk in Wausau, with cold waves at the top
Households in Wausau have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2010. Compared with nearly four fifths of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. FEMA puts 46% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 39% to inland flooding.
21risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesInland floodingTornadoes
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Most of Wausau’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.2 jobs for each of them
The top destinations are Wausau (38%), Weston (8%) and Schofield (7%). Commuting out is the norm in the town: 4% of working residents work locally. Employers in Wausau shed 102 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 250. Wausau: 15% of residents live below the poverty line, against 6.4% in Wisconsin’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
4%work in town
| Wausau | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 9.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Wausau4%
Wausau38%
Weston8%
Schofield7%
Rothschild3%
7 mi
median commute distance
250
jobs based in Wausau
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
The climate in Wausau brings snowy winters and pleasant summers
In Wausau, the July high is 80°F, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
63″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter9–25°
Spring31–53°
Summer55–78°
Fall36–55°
Oct 4
typical first frost
May 6
typical last frost
+1.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB−
Residents of Wausau are healthier than 55% of U.S. towns
30% of adults in Wausau sleep under 7 hours; 18% binge drink. The town tracks Wisconsin closely on all 32 CDC measures. The share of adults in Wausau who feel lonely: 28%.
55%healthier than U.S. townsB−Health Grade
| Wausau | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
0 better32 too close to call0 worse
Aspirus Wausau Hospital
6.2 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: primary care
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsD
0% of Wausau is conserved land
Count the trails in 1 park or preserve and they come to 1.9 miles. The density of trails in Wausau is 0.1 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: one, of 2 acres.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 2 of 20,502 acres
1.9 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sylvan Hill Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Nearby attractions
All 4 attractions →Granite Peak Ski Area and 2 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wausau. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Ski areaGranite Peak Ski Area52 runs · 660 ft vertical
4 mi MuseumLeigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
4 mi TheatreGrand Theater
4 mi MuseumLeigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum4 mi TheatreGrand TheaterSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum: User:Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Grand Theater: Billertl, CC BY-SA 4.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Wausau
19pages on Wausau
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wausau
About 6 of every 100 Wausau residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
Famous people from Wausau
35 notable people were born in Wausau.
J
Jalen JohnsonAmerican basketball player (born December 2001) · born 2001
T
Thomas T. MoultonAmerican sound engineer · 1896–1967M
Michael A. StackpoleScience fiction author · born 1957
About Wausau
City in Marathon County, Wisconsin, US
Wausau ( WAH-sah or Wə-sə) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Wisconsin River in central Wisconsin and had a population of 39,994 at the 2020 census. The Wausau metropolitan statistical area, consisting solely of Marathon County, had a population of 138,013. The Wausau area was inhabited by various indigenous peoples, including the Ojibwe. It was settled by European immigrants in the mid-19th century and developed as a lumbering center due to its access to pine forests and river transport. Cultural and recreational attractions in Wausau include the Grand Theater, Granite Peak Ski Area, Rib Mountain State Park, Leigh Yawkey Woods…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 20 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,207 ft
- ZIP code
- 54401, 54402, 54403
Wausau’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Wausau.
WausauTexasEastonWestonWausau
How the neighbors grade
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wausau | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Wausau | #274 | B− | B | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Texas | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Easton | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B |
| Weston | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wausau, Texas and Easton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wausau, Texas and Easton report no FBI crime data of their own. Weston isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wausau with a neighbor →
Questions about Wausau
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Wausau, WI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.