Best PlacesWisconsin Dells, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Wisconsin Dells, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Wisconsin Dells ranks 21,270th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Wisconsin Dells
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Wisconsin Dells' strengths and weaknesses
Where Wisconsin Dells ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- TransitBetter than 89% of towns
- BikingBetter than 86% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 78% of towns
Where Wisconsin Dells ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 24% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 30% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Wisconsin Dells
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wisconsin Dells home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,208, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Wisconsin Dells' effective rate of 1.09%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Wisconsin Dells.
Who works in Wisconsin Dells, and how
Work in Wisconsin Dells centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of towns and more parkland per resident than 99% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Wisconsin Dells and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Wisconsin Dells, month by month
Wisconsin Dells sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 20° | 14° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Wisconsin Dells
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wisconsin Dells
Schools across Wisconsin Dells average a C+, better than 44% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lyndon Station ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Lewiston ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Lake Delton ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wisconsin Dells Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Webb MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- Wayne Bartels MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Reedsburg Area HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Portage HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Wisconsin Dells HighD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wisconsin Dells school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wisconsin Dells measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Wisconsin Dells against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Wisconsin Dells
Is Wisconsin Dells a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wisconsin Dells ranks 21,270th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, walkability, and transit, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wisconsin Dells expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $236,316. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $70,208 median income, cost of living beats 47% of towns.
Is Wisconsin Dells safe?
Wisconsin Dells is safer than 54% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
Compare Wisconsin Dells with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wisconsin Dells. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wisconsin Dells represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Wisconsin Dells detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wisconsin Dells: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wisconsin Dells: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wisconsin Dells: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wisconsin Dells: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wisconsin Dells detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.