Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,411, settled in 1850.
The best of Wautoma’s subject grades are an A for walkability and civic life; the weakest is a D− for incomes. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Wautoma, above both the Wisconsin town median (6.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On incomes, just 8 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Waushara County Fairgrounds, at 32 acres. Wautoma has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Wautoma beats most towns.
Where Wautoma’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 Wautoma is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 295 in 1880, 2,209 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 2 maps from 1968 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wautoma, 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 Wautoma.
Wautoma’s median household income is $32,000, against $87,000 in Wisconsin’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. 20% of Wautoma working residents work locally. Since 2013, Wautoma has added 217 jobs, to 1,688 in 2023.
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $32,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 6.7% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Wautoma Area School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Wautoma High, with 388 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkside SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 480 | C+ |
| Wautoma HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 388 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Wautoma has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 9° and about 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
12% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Wautoma.
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 7.1% | 8.1% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Wautoma | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 11.7% | 8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 15.8% | 12.1% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 12.2% | 9.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Wautoma home is worth about $292,000, up 5.5% in a year, 13% below the Wisconsin typical home. Wautoma’s median rent is $801 a month.
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $801 a month | $1,078 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The property crime rate in Wautoma is 17.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.4 per 1,000 residents | 6.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 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. Bird Creek Park | 0.7 mi | 31 |
| 2. Waushara County Fairgrounds | 0.1 mi | 32 |
| 3. Sandcrest Park | — | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Wautoma; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Wautoma residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Wautoma is a city in and the county seat of Waushara County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,209 at the 2020 census. The city consists of three noncontiguous areas: one is entirely surrounded by the Town of Wautoma, the second is entirely surrounded by the Town of Dakota, and the third and largest straddles the boundary between the two towns. Wautoma calls itself the "Christmas tree capital of the world". The Kirk Company of Tacoma, Washington, operated the "Wautoma plantation" of more than 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of Christmas trees, beginning in 1953. On August 29, 1992, the town was struck by a half-mile wide F-3 tornado, killing 2 people, injuring 30 others, and causing ov…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Wautoma.
Wautoma, Wautoma and Dakota have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wautoma and Dakota report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Wautoma with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($67,107 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.