Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
20% more nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town. Home to 1,298 people, this town lies in Wisconsin.
Wautoma’s best subject grade is an A− for civic life; its weakest is a C for health. Wautoma’s age of the median resident is 55.2 years, above both the Wisconsin town median (42.1 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Among 363 Wisconsin towns, just 10 have a lower share of children under 18 than Wautoma. A typical home costs about $214K, 3.2 years of the county’s $67K median household income. Only 63 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score lower on history. The biggest park or preserve is White River Fishery Area, at 322 acres. Wautoma has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Wautoma beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
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.
Explore the history →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.
People 65 and older are 29% of residents (19% statewide); children under 18 are 13% of residents (21% statewide). 1,298 people lived in Wautoma by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 2.2% more than in 2020. Here, 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 33% in Wisconsin as a whole.
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 29% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Wautoma | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.8% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.8% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.8% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19.4% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.6% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.8% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.9% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,300, single groups can be off by several points
Against the Wisconsin average, Wautoma comes out ahead on 2 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 12. 39% of adults have high blood pressure locally. Among adults locally, 32% get no exercise outside work and 30% sleep under 7 hours.
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Wautoma | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82% | 77.8% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 87.4% | 85.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The range runs from 8° on a January night to 82° on a July afternoon, with about 46 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 5% of working residents stay in Wautoma for work; the rest commute out. The town’s average commute stands at 21 minutes. It had 476 jobs in 2023, up 42 from 2013. For half of commuters, work is under 30 miles away.
| Wautoma | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.1% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 10% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Compared with 59% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Wautoma is lower. 38% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 23%. One declared disaster, in 2002, has brought federal aid to Wautoma households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. White River Fishery Area | — | 322 |
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)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
20% more nonprofits per person than the typical Wisconsin town.