Best PlacesWisconsin Rapids, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Wisconsin Rapids, 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 Rapids ranks 1,395th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Wisconsin Rapids
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 Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Wisconsin Rapids ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 78% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 76% of cities
- Short commute22.2 minutes each way, better than 76% of cities
Where Wisconsin Rapids ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 16% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Wisconsin Rapids
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wisconsin Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,955, 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 Rapids' effective rate of 1.37%, 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 7 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 Rapids
Wisconsin Rapids 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 Rapids.
Who works in Wisconsin Rapids, and how
Work in Wisconsin Rapids centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Wisconsin Rapids
Wisconsin Rapids has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of cities and more parkland per resident than 88% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Wisconsin Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Wisconsin Rapids, month by month
Wisconsin Rapids sees roughly 110 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Wisconsin Rapids
The nearest airport, Central Wisconsin, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 137 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wisconsin Rapids
Schools across Wisconsin Rapids average a C−, better than 21% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Port Edwards Ed Heuer Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Washington ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Pittsville ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benjamin Franklin Junior HighB− · 42% proficient
- P J Jacobs Junior HighB− · 42% proficient
- John Edwards MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Lincoln HighC · 34% proficient
- Stevens Point Area Senior HighC · 31% proficient
- Nekoosa HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wisconsin Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wisconsin Rapids 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 Rapids against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Wisconsin Rapids suits
Retirees
The weather beats 66% of cities and health care access beats 78%.
Common questions about living in Wisconsin Rapids
Is Wisconsin Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wisconsin Rapids ranks 1,395th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, civic engagement, and health care access, and lowest on internet speeds and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wisconsin Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,542. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $70,955 median income, cost of living beats 41% of cities.
Is Wisconsin Rapids safe?
Wisconsin Rapids is safer than 53% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $318 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Wisconsin Rapids?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 27 with lows near 12. That works out to about 110 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of cities.
Is Wisconsin Rapids good for families?
Schools beat 21% of cities, crime safety beats 53%, and childcare runs $1,055 a month.
Compare Wisconsin Rapids with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wisconsin Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wisconsin Rapids 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 Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wisconsin Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wisconsin Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wisconsin Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wisconsin Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wisconsin Rapids 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.