Most Americans have never been to small town Wisconsin. However, as the Wisconsinite who live there know, small town Wisconsin is an awesome place to call home.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Wisconsin has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Badger State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.
After analyzing more than 231 of Wisconsin’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Wisconsin where you’d never want to live:
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
These are the worst small towns in Wisconsin for 2024:
- Little Round Lake
- Adams
- Abbotsford
- Plainfield
- Necedah
- Lac du Flambeau
- Wautoma
- Hurley
- Niagara
- Cumberland
So what is the worst small town to call home in Wisconsin for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Little Round Lake is the worst small town to live in Wisconsin.
While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Little Round Lake home. Everyone
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.
And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Wisconsin or the worst places to live in Wisconsin.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.
The 10 Worst Small Towns In Wisconsin For 2024
1. Little Round Lake
/10
Population: 1,026
Median Home Value: $92,489
Median Income: $35,571
Unemployment Rate: 10.2%
2. Adams
/10
Population: 2,204
Median Home Value: $158,364
Median Income: $37,024
Unemployment Rate: 11.0%
3. Abbotsford
/10
Population: 2,186
Median Home Value: $160,812
Median Income: $58,125
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
4. Plainfield
Population: 1,008
Median Home Value: $178,181
Median Income: $45,417
Unemployment Rate: 8.0%
5. Necedah
/10
Population: 1,124
Median Home Value: $183,657
Median Income: $47,986
Unemployment Rate: 10.4%
6. Lac Du Flambeau
/10
Population: 1,755
Median Home Value: $467,305
Median Income: $29,375
Unemployment Rate: 10.8%
7. Wautoma
/10
Population: 2,003
Median Home Value: $244,753
Median Income: $39,375
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
8. Hurley
/10
Population: 1,405
Median Home Value: $109,150
Median Income: $38,580
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
9. Niagara
/10
Population: 1,423
Median Home Value: $147,966
Median Income: $51,667
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%
10. Cumberland
/10
Population: 2,714
Median Home Value: $288,558
Median Income: $42,760
Unemployment Rate: 7.3%
Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Wisconsin is lousy or not?
To rank the worst small towns to live in Wisconsin, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.
We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.
Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower, the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 231 to be exact.
We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Wisconsin.
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Wisconsin
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Badger State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
The worst small towns in Wisconsin are Little Round Lake, Adams, Abbotsford, Plainfield, Necedah, Lac du Flambeau, Wautoma, Hurley, Niagara, and Cumberland.
If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Wisconsin, according to science:
- Summit (Pop. 4,914)
- Cross Plains (Pop. 4,053)
- Maple Bluff (Pop. 1,327)
For more Wisconsin reading, check out:
Worst Small Towns In Wisconsin
| Rank | Town | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Round Lake | 1,026 | 10.2% | $92,489 | $35,571 |
| 2 | Adams | 2,204 | 11.0% | $158,364 | $37,024 |
| 3 | Abbotsford | 2,186 | 6.2% | $160,812 | $58,125 |
| 4 | Plainfield | 1,008 | 8.0% | $178,181 | $45,417 |
| 5 | Necedah | 1,124 | 10.4% | $183,657 | $47,986 |
| 6 | Lac Du Flambeau | 1,755 | 10.8% | $467,305 | $29,375 |
| 7 | Wautoma | 2,003 | 5.1% | $244,753 | $39,375 |
| 8 | Hurley | 1,405 | 6.2% | $109,150 | $38,580 |
| 9 | Niagara | 1,423 | 6.1% | $147,966 | $51,667 |
| 10 | Cumberland | 2,714 | 7.3% | $288,558 | $42,760 |
| 11 | Phillips | 1,578 | 4.4% | $201,931 | $41,950 |
| 12 | Marion | 1,110 | 2.9% | $193,442 | $54,659 |
| 13 | Colby | 2,132 | 3.9% | $172,912 | $51,176 |
| 14 | Park Falls | 2,389 | 2.7% | $177,192 | $43,631 |
| 15 | Keshena | 1,424 | 8.4% | $294,084 | $43,000 |
| 16 | Markesan | 1,292 | 4.7% | $179,619 | $62,545 |
| 17 | Nekoosa | 2,489 | 5.3% | $230,149 | $40,833 |
| 18 | Spooner | 2,062 | 6.1% | $276,962 | $49,628 |
| 19 | Princeton | 1,106 | 10.0% | $199,800 | $59,904 |
| 20 | Barron | 3,693 | 5.3% | $200,993 | $47,297 |
| 21 | Ladysmith | 3,192 | 8.3% | $155,555 | $49,973 |
| 22 | Crivitz | 1,187 | 2.7% | $188,689 | $58,929 |
| 23 | New Lisbon | 1,688 | 10.3% | $161,862 | $47,315 |
| 24 | Boyceville | 1,286 | 5.2% | $251,632 | $55,833 |
| 25 | Grantsburg | 1,385 | 4.1% | $216,445 | $44,808 |
| 26 | Augusta | 1,254 | 4.2% | $233,121 | $50,243 |
| 27 | Neillsville | 2,311 | 3.6% | $175,749 | $57,400 |
| 28 | Independence | 1,267 | 4.0% | $206,686 | $51,354 |
| 29 | Crandon | 1,519 | 1.3% | $213,192 | $47,083 |
| 30 | Stanley | 3,772 | 2.5% | $200,456 | $55,919 |
| 31 | Boscobel | 3,275 | 4.7% | $167,900 | $52,074 |
| 32 | Hillsboro | 1,318 | 5.3% | $149,709 | $58,281 |
| 33 | Hayward | 2,526 | 5.4% | $356,316 | $39,422 |
| 34 | Mauston | 4,311 | 2.3% | $217,093 | $57,083 |
| 35 | Greenwood | 1,043 | 2.4% | $189,120 | $53,750 |
| 36 | Montello | 1,405 | 7.7% | $231,302 | $52,500 |
| 37 | West Milwaukee | 4,096 | 5.0% | $218,801 | $46,220 |
| 38 | Sharon | 1,601 | 5.2% | $243,350 | $60,000 |
| 39 | Frederic | 1,101 | 3.8% | $229,750 | $50,250 |
| 40 | Mondovi | 2,832 | 2.5% | $242,509 | $48,526 |
| 41 | Stratford | 1,364 | 1.8% | $224,119 | $63,646 |
| 42 | Tomahawk | 3,413 | 7.5% | $246,318 | $59,800 |
| 43 | St. Croix Falls | 2,268 | 4.1% | $295,518 | $61,840 |
| 44 | Cornell | 1,395 | 1.2% | $192,743 | $59,375 |
| 45 | Chetek | 2,264 | 3.5% | $263,693 | $51,250 |
| 46 | Muscoda | 1,194 | 5.7% | $184,403 | $51,016 |
| 47 | Gillett | 1,324 | 3.5% | $190,975 | $51,944 |
| 48 | Cashton | 1,303 | 2.8% | $192,739 | $64,625 |
| 49 | Eagle River | 1,575 | 6.9% | $347,307 | $47,169 |
| 50 | Athens | 1,015 | 0.8% | $192,766 | $58,828 |
| 51 | Hilbert | 1,108 | 2.3% | $178,160 | $66,000 |
| 52 | Shullsburg | 1,218 | 6.8% | $173,035 | $60,179 |
| 53 | Clear Lake | 1,048 | 3.9% | $272,793 | $71,705 |
| 54 | Arcadia | 3,669 | 4.4% | $225,008 | $62,008 |
| 55 | Thorp | 1,753 | 2.7% | $190,394 | $53,824 |
| 56 | Elroy | 1,543 | 1.0% | $180,027 | $57,583 |
| 57 | Legend Lake | 1,530 | 10.6% | $199,237 | $86,563 |
| 58 | Bonduel | 1,427 | 2.7% | $195,740 | $58,167 |
| 59 | Clintonville | 4,549 | 3.3% | $139,893 | $58,377 |
| 60 | Port Edwards | 1,818 | 2.8% | $171,107 | $70,347 |
| 61 | Osceola | 2,785 | 8.8% | $335,309 | $51,667 |
| 62 | West Baraboo | 1,557 | 3.8% | $244,575 | $55,952 |
| 63 | Whitehall | 1,565 | 2.2% | $214,147 | $56,894 |
| 64 | Glenwood City | 1,207 | 5.3% | $269,682 | $77,788 |
| 65 | Medford | 4,317 | 4.5% | $211,047 | $54,107 |
| 66 | Lake Delton | 3,475 | 1.6% | $283,222 | $45,579 |
| 67 | Blair | 1,218 | 4.6% | $207,379 | $64,704 |
| 68 | Wisconsin Dells | 2,703 | 8.7% | $259,757 | $64,375 |
| 69 | Horicon | 3,793 | 4.9% | $227,298 | $48,266 |
| 70 | Loyal | 1,328 | 0.4% | $176,487 | $59,938 |
| 71 | Black River Falls | 3,488 | 4.5% | $198,623 | $42,798 |
| 72 | Washburn | 1,975 | 2.1% | $234,805 | $56,080 |
| 73 | Redgranite | 2,045 | 2.5% | $184,650 | $70,800 |
| 74 | Oconto Falls | 2,959 | 0.7% | $233,445 | $47,941 |
| 75 | Schofield | 2,256 | 5.9% | $183,095 | $63,279 |
| 76 | Darien | 1,271 | 3.1% | $276,946 | $62,333 |
| 77 | Shell Lake | 1,664 | 3.3% | $305,836 | $52,500 |
| 78 | Darlington | 2,462 | 1.9% | $187,434 | $60,682 |
| 79 | Colfax | 1,313 | 8.6% | $285,284 | $65,500 |
| 80 | Spring Valley | 1,284 | 5.4% | $281,366 | $61,867 |
| 81 | Algoma | 3,227 | 3.6% | $218,147 | $72,232 |
| 82 | Brodhead | 3,221 | 6.7% | $258,655 | $45,601 |
| 83 | Oconto | 4,586 | 1.6% | $196,685 | $63,214 |
| 84 | Cameron | 1,800 | 2.1% | $273,164 | $65,132 |
| 85 | French Island | 4,266 | 6.4% | $231,596 | $59,574 |
| 86 | Juneau | 2,636 | 4.7% | $270,950 | $76,467 |
| 87 | Cadott | 1,476 | 0.8% | $275,694 | $65,197 |
| 88 | Westfield | 1,270 | 1.9% | $232,311 | $54,000 |
| 89 | Amery | 2,959 | 4.5% | $303,440 | $71,111 |
| 90 | Iola | 1,148 | 5.5% | $229,102 | $53,462 |
| 91 | Osseo | 1,720 | 1.4% | $199,993 | $61,296 |
| 92 | Hammond | 2,015 | 6.3% | $343,170 | $77,303 |
| 93 | Waterloo | 3,511 | 3.5% | $268,624 | $72,666 |
| 94 | Green Lake | 1,000 | 4.0% | $381,259 | $51,367 |
| 95 | Peshtigo | 3,414 | 1.8% | $207,235 | $61,471 |
| 96 | Bloomfield | 4,791 | 7.2% | $405,512 | $95,166 |
| 97 | Luck | 1,214 | 1.9% | $284,965 | $64,250 |
| 98 | Fall River | 1,708 | 3.0% | $317,259 | $74,688 |
| 99 | Weyauwega | 1,857 | 0.5% | $231,778 | $61,316 |
| 100 | Manawa | 1,238 | 3.6% | $212,090 | $77,054 |
lol love wis rural or leave dumb comps guys sitting at desks in big cities dodging bullets ha
What a bunch of idiots! Steuben has THE best prime rib you will ever have! And when a neighbor needs help, we all help out! As for crime? What a joke….we don’t HAVE any crime. Assholes!!
I love prime Rib! What is the name of the place that serves it? Would love to come try it out!
I guess that if having a great meal at an affordable price, served by people who actually are interested in who you are and where your from, is a measure for a “small town where you’d never want to live” then I guess these towns are just that. These small communities in Wisconsin are great places to live if you like talking with your neighbors and having people wave at you when you travel thru town. These people are mostly kind, gentle, loving people who would watch each other’s kids in their yard or take a disabled person to the store EVERY week because they couldn’t go themselves. I miss living in my small home town, the one that’s 10th on your list, and would love to move back when I can. So go ahead and make your assumptions of our small little towns based on your statistics like Steuben being the 7th highest crime rate for small towns. It’s a village so it doesn’t qualify as a “town” in the first place, second there hasn’t been a serious crime there that I can remember (I lived ther from 1971 to 2013). If you want to live your life in a peaceful place check them out, if you like the big city then stay away. We like it just the way it is!
Well said. The author has built a “straw man” argument, but likely wouldn’t be able to identify a real one.
My husbands family is from Fairchild. I love going there to visit if we could we would relocate there.
Wow! Been in a number of these towns and here my life. This site, who did this data, is so full of BS! From the crime rates, per capita not being correct and the unemployment rates?? Farming is a job!! Not employer paid, but ALL Farming areas. How misleading of our towns!!!
Mattoon, the middle of nowhere. So happy to have moved back to civilization.
Lived in Elderon for many years and it was a great place to live. Nothing wrong with small towns.
Montello should be added, horrible Schools, and other reasons I do not feel comfortable posting just because I have to live here, For Now…
Lots of places with bad schools
I can not believe that Sheldon is on that list! They have the best burgers in the world and don’t forget the North Star! The families are farm families and great folks. The county fair and the park are top notch.
1st off , dangerous and ashley madison as topics in the header of this website shows it is nothing but click bait bullshit, at the expense of a few small towns who actually take care of their own. Sharing these websites only defers tourism and commerce that real positive websites info provides. Whoever is the author(cant be searched) go back to your hole and take your online degree and crappy ass stats and take some real college classes with a real professor in journalism. Pathetic.
These small towns may have issues time to time but the majority of the time they are very safe and almost everyone knows each other. Most of the major cities under report many crimes and people do not seem to have the time or care to get to know this neighbor. I must admit I have not lived in Wisconsin for almost 17 years and do not care much for the winters.
There’s nothing like the charm of a small town, probably including most of the towns on this list. The town I’m connected with, Almond, used to be so much more than it is now. For Almond I think it was a gathering place for farmers to come to town on Friday to go to market, drink at the tavern, do your banking, pick up your mail, etc. But big corporate farms came in, most of the farmers are now in area cemeteries, and the whole village has changed character. Stevens Point is up the road, but I was there last October and I’d have to say that’s not even the town it once was! Just my take, though. The residents love these places, I’m sure.
I lived in Hatley WI for 44 years never locked my house left my keys in the car not one time in 44 years did my car or anything from my house go missing. I moved to Cleveland Ohio my first year here my truck was stolen and my windows were broken out of my van. Last weekend 5 kids were shot playing out side . I can’t wait to get back to my home town and live in peace and quiet. I Love small town living
I would only add that this article has a streak of needless meanness and condescension in it.
I grew up in Medford , which had a population of 2,799 back then. I had no fear of crime and feel that I got a decent 12 years of education. People knew each other and were friendly. I didn’t really know anyone who didn’t have a job. The evaluation of “small towns in Wisconsin” doesn’t include My home town due to the higher population. However, I think Wisconsin, in general, was a great place to grow up. I never lacked anything and feel about Medford as I would think that those people in the “small towns” also feel. Home is where the heart is, whether it be in a small town in Wisconsin or a crime laden city like Chicago. Personally, I’ll take the small, friendly town.
i felt myself shrinking painfully a bit under the satistics and references to people based on money earned and education. you are talking about me. i understand that is used in statistics, but as i have had mensa people in my family ,and have lived among university types for years, i must say i find them no better at all , in any way, including kindness , faith , happiness ,and generosity, than the less educated and less wealthy. this is not just reverse snobbishness. i live in one of the ‘larger small towns’,certainly not on this list, and to me it is not so small. i have actually had things stolen, have had people try to break into my home while i was at home, and there is meth and other drugs here ,and just houses down from me there are plenty of users. a workman at my home, newly arrived from one of the bigger cities in the state, was surprised to see a cocaine deal made on the table of a bar/restaurant downtown at noon. I do not know what the crimes are that are used here in the statistics. it might have been helpful to break them down. as for ‘things to do’, are we spoiled children? people who live in big cities with so many things to do, often head out to remote areas for thier vacations. there is always something to do no matter where you are. and yes, farming is a job!