Worst Small Towns In Wisconsin For 2020


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in WI are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, About HomeSnacks
December 27, 2019
Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2020. This is our sixth time ranking the worst small places to live in Wisconsin.

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Most Americans have never been to Wisconsin. However, as the people who live there know, Wisconsin is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Wisconsin has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Badger State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 227 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:

These are the worst small towns in Wisconsin for 2020:

  1. Little Round Lake
  2. Lac du Flambeau
  3. Hurley
  4. Crandon
  5. Wautoma (Photos)
  6. Frederic
  7. Adams
  8. Ladysmith
  9. Cornell
  10. Eagle River

So what is the worst small town to call home in wisconsin for 2020? According to the most recent census data, Little Round Lake is the worst small town to live in Wisconsin.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Wisconsin has its stuff figured out.

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.

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The 10 Worst Small Towns In Wisconsin For 2020

1. Little Round Lake

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,190
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $80,300 (7th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 20.3% (1st worst)
More on Little Round Lake:  Data

2. Lac Du Flambeau

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,537
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $108,100 (54th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 16.1% (2nd worst)
More on Lac Du Flambeau:  Data

3. Hurley

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,533
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $61,500 (1st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.0% (4th worst)
More on Hurley:  Data

4. Crandon

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,994
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $100,700 (41st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.0% (19th worst)
More on Crandon:  Data

5. Wautoma

Wautoma, WI

Source: Wikipedia User myself | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,122
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $79,200 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (84th worst)
More on Wautoma:  Data | Photos

6. Frederic

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,037
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $100,200 (40th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.0% (5th worst)
More on Frederic:

7. Adams

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,996
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $82,700 (10th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.3% (3rd worst)
More on Adams:  Data

8. Ladysmith

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,188
Rank Last Year: 20 (Up 12)
Median Home Value: $83,400 (11th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (93rd worst)
More on Ladysmith:  Data

9. Cornell

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,733
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $93,500 (27th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (95th worst)
More on Cornell:  Data

10. Eagle River

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,550
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $123,300 (86th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (60th worst)
More on Eagle River:  Data

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How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Wisconsin, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in Wisconsin for 2020

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2014-2018 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 a lot - 227 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

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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.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Wisconsin, according to science:

  1. Cross Plains (Pop. 4,106)
  2. Shorewood Hills (Pop. 2,214)
  3. Okauchee Lake (Pop. 4,409)

For more Wisconsin reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Wisconsin

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Little Round Lake 1,190 20.3% $80,300
2 Lac Du Flambeau 1,537 16.1% $108,100
3 Hurley 1,533 12.0% $61,500
4 Crandon 1,994 7.0% $100,700
5 Wautoma 2,122 4.1% $79,200
6 Frederic 1,037 10.0% $100,200
7 Adams 1,996 12.3% $82,700
8 Ladysmith 3,188 3.8% $83,400
9 Cornell 1,733 3.7% $93,500
10 Eagle River 1,550 4.8% $123,300
11 Grantsburg 1,343 5.6% $89,900
12 Wittenberg 1,074 4.3% $88,900
13 Park Falls 2,367 3.0% $73,400
14 Mil 1,115 3.2% $95,800
15 Keshena 1,377 8.4% $114,800
16 Princeton 1,233 6.9% $87,700
17 New Lisbon 2,502 6.5% $87,500
18 Cumberland 2,458 5.3% $116,100
19 Redgranite 1,991 5.7% $88,400
20 Hayward 2,533 7.8% $125,000
21 Phillips 1,437 2.1% $80,400
22 Montello 1,434 6.0% $109,300
23 Niagara 1,536 3.3% $67,100
24 Sharon 1,748 5.6% $137,400
25 Greenwood 1,009 4.6% $80,000
26 Gillett 1,104 5.2% $82,500
27 Hillsboro 1,318 5.5% $100,000
28 Stanley 3,660 2.9% $89,000
29 Glenwood City 1,295 7.5% $118,800
30 Shell Lake 1,348 9.2% $124,100
31 Muscoda 1,443 4.4% $88,300
32 Fox Lake 1,647 8.1% $121,100
33 Colby 1,989 5.4% $111,800
34 Oconto 4,469 8.0% $92,700
35 Spooner 2,591 5.2% $104,800
36 Augusta 1,566 4.7% $103,500
37 Independence 1,579 8.7% $123,500
38 Iola 1,179 6.2% $97,600
39 West Milwaukee 4,173 6.4% $134,900
40 Elroy 1,361 4.7% $83,500
41 Neillsville 2,373 4.7% $88,200
42 Lake Delton 2,984 0.0% $120,500
43 Nekoosa 2,494 4.0% $78,700
44 Cadott 1,423 3.2% $113,400
45 Wisconsin Dells 2,752 5.1% $161,900
46 Tomahawk 3,201 5.2% $136,500
47 Schofield 2,209 6.2% $103,900
48 Arcadia 3,013 3.9% $117,900
49 Mauston 4,375 3.1% $98,300
50 Marion 1,138 2.4% $90,900
51 Black River Falls 3,512 6.5% $111,800
52 Barron 3,334 1.7% $86,100
53 Peshtigo 3,383 7.2% $103,600
54 Abbotsford 2,175 1.6% $105,400
55 Loyal 1,265 4.4% $94,200
56 Colfax 1,106 4.2% $107,800
57 Thorp 1,502 3.2% $90,000
58 Medford 4,312 5.5% $108,000
59 West Baraboo 1,665 5.2% $157,100
60 Algoma 3,069 7.0% $96,900
61 Clintonville 4,384 1.3% $89,300
62 Durand 1,787 2.0% $112,200
63 Dresser 1,019 3.7% $127,500
64 Chetek 2,166 3.5% $116,000
65 Albany 1,207 5.3% $123,000
66 Blair 1,334 5.5% $94,700
67 Osceola 2,496 4.5% $140,400
68 Cameron 1,903 4.4% $113,100
69 Osseo 1,694 4.9% $121,300
70 Woodville 1,329 3.5% $123,300
71 St. Croix Falls 1,922 4.8% $158,900
72 Weyauwega 1,805 3.0% $102,800
73 Port Edwards 1,688 8.8% $99,000
74 Luck 1,165 1.6% $104,600
75 Juneau 2,686 8.9% $131,300
76 Markesan 1,260 3.4% $111,500
77 Galesville 1,794 3.7% $134,900
78 Marshall 3,965 6.6% $172,500
79 Oconto Falls 2,826 2.8% $103,700
80 Amherst 1,028 2.9% $131,500
81 Washburn 2,014 3.2% $134,900
82 Manawa 1,428 3.7% $99,200
83 Westfield 1,327 2.9% $95,400
84 Darien 1,795 6.6% $148,000
85 Westby 2,461 1.4% $113,500
86 Spring Valley 1,565 2.4% $122,500
87 Whiting 1,637 5.1% $149,800
88 Walworth 2,822 3.0% $176,600
89 Bonduel 1,378 3.9% $126,200
90 Bloomer 3,503 3.2% $133,700
91 Viroqua 4,371 0.8% $124,400
92 King 1,804 6.3% $116,000
93 Amery 2,825 4.3% $131,100
94 Stratford 1,640 2.1% $132,600
95 Mondovi 2,626 2.1% $117,000
96 Elk Mound 1,085 3.4% $120,600
97 Kewaunee 2,859 3.5% $101,700
98 Boscobel 3,150 1.6% $98,400
99 Horicon 3,623 6.4% $131,300
100 Spencer 1,808 2.6% $111,100
Download The Entire Wisconsin Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

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