List of counties in Wisconsin

Counties of Wisconsin
Location	State of Wisconsin
Number	72
Populations	4,226 (Menominee) – 916,205 (Milwaukee)
Areas	231.98 square miles (600.8 km2) (Pepin) – 1,544.91 square miles (4,001.3 km2) (Marathon)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	cities, villages, towns

There are 72 counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The land that eventually became Wisconsin was transferred from British to American control with the 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris. ^[1] It was an unorganized part of the Northwest Territory until 1802 when all of the land from St. Louis north to the Canadian border was organized as St. Clair County. ^[1] When Illinois was admitted to the union in 1818, Wisconsin became part of the Territory of Michigan and divided into two counties: Brown County in the northeast along Lake Michigan and Crawford County in the southwest along the Mississippi River. ^[1] Iowa County was formed in 1829 from the Crawford County land south of the Wisconsin River. ^[1] Brown County's southern portion was used to form Milwaukee County in 1834. ^[1] The state of Wisconsin was created from Wisconsin Territory on May 29, 1848, with 28 counties.

The most populous county in the state is Milwaukee County at 916,205 people at the 2023 Census estimate. ^[2] The county with the least population is Menominee County with 4,226 residents; the Menominee Indian Reservation is co-extensive with the county. ^[2] Pepin County is the smallest in area, with 231.98 square miles (600.8 km²); Marathon is the largest, having 1,544.91 square miles (4,001.3 km²). ^[2]

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. ^[3] Wisconsin's code is 55, which when combined with any county code would be written as 55XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county. ^[4]

Governance

Each county has a county seat, often a populous or centrally located community, where the county's governmental offices are located. Some of the services provided by the county include: law enforcement, circuit courts, social services, vital records and deed registration, road maintenance, and snow removal. County officials include sheriffs, district attorneys, clerks, treasurers, coroners, surveyors, registers of deeds, and clerks of circuit court; these officers are elected for four-year terms. In most counties, elected coroners have been replaced by appointed medical examiners. State law permits counties to appoint a registered land surveyor in place of electing a surveyor.

Counties in Wisconsin are governed by county boards, headed by a chairperson. Counties with a population of 500,000 or more must also have a county executive. Smaller counties may have either a county executive or a county administrator. ^[5] As of 2011, 13 counties had elected county executives: Brown, Chippewa, Dane, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Portage, Racine, Sawyer, Waukesha, and Winnebago. 23 had an appointed county administrator, 34 had an appointed administrative coordinator, and 2 had neither an executive nor an administrator. Waukesha County had both an executive and an administrator. ^[6]

List of counties

County	FIPS code [4]	County seat [7]	Est. [8]	Formed from [9]	Etymology [9]	Population [2]	Area [2]	Map
AdamsCounty	001	Friendship	1848	Portage County	John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), President of the United States (1825–29)	21,449	645.65 sq mi (1,672 km2)
AshlandCounty	003	Ashland	1860	La Pointe County	Ashland, Henry Clay's estate in Kentucky	16,079	1,045.04 sq mi (2,707 km2)
BarronCounty	005	Barron	1859	Polk County	Henry D. Barron, state senator and circuit court judge.	46,833	862.71 sq mi (2,234 km2)
BayfieldCounty	007	Washburn	1845	St. Croix County	Henry Bayfield, Royal naval officer and first to survey Great Lakes area	16,769	1,477.86 sq mi (3,828 km2)
BrownCounty	009	Green Bay	1818	unorganized territory	Major General Jacob Brown (1775–1828), commanding general of the United States Army during the War of 1812	271,417	529.71 sq mi (1,372 km2)
BuffaloCounty	011	Alma	1853	Jackson County	The Buffalo River, which flows through the county.	13,419	671.64 sq mi (1,740 km2)
BurnettCounty	013	Siren	1856	Polk County	Thomas P. Burnett, state legislator	17,092	821.85 sq mi (2,129 km2)
CalumetCounty	015	Chilton	1836	Brown County, Wisconsin	The French word for a Menominee Ceremonial pipe.	53,199	318.24 sq mi (824 km2)
ChippewaCounty	017	Chippewa Falls	1845	Crawford County	Chippewa Indians	66,970	1,008.37 sq mi (2,612 km2)
ClarkCounty	019	Neillsville	1853	Crawford County	George Rogers Clark (1752–1812), Revolutionary War general	34,774	1,209.82 sq mi (3,133 km2)
ColumbiaCounty	021	Portage	1846	Portage County	Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), navigator and explorer	58,091	765.53 sq mi (1,983 km2)
CrawfordCounty	023	Prairie du Chien	1818	unorganized territory	William Harris Crawford (1772–1834), United States Senator from Georgia (1807–13) and Secretary of the Treasury (1816–25)	15,944	570.66 sq mi (1,478 km2)
DaneCounty	025	Madison	1836	Crawford, Iowa, and Milwaukee Counties	Nathan Dane (1752–1835), delegate to the First Continental Congress (1785–88)	575,347	1,197.24 sq mi (3,101 km2)
DodgeCounty	027	Juneau	1836	Brown and Milwaukee Counties	Henry Dodge (1782–1867), Territorial Governor of Wisconsin (1845–48)	88,231	875.63 sq mi (2,268 km2)
DoorCounty	029	Sturgeon Bay	1851	Brown County	A dangerous water passage near Door Peninsula known as Porte des Morts or "door of the dead" in French	30,562	481.98 sq mi (1,248 km2)
DouglasCounty	031	Superior	1854	La Pointe County	Stephen Douglas (1813–61), United States Senator from Illinois (1847–61)	44,264	1,304.14 sq mi (3,378 km2)
DunnCounty	033	Menomonie	1854	Chippewa County	Charles Dunn, state senator and chief justice of Wisconsin Territory	45,794	850.11 sq mi (2,202 km2)
Eau ClaireCounty	035	Eau Claire	1856	Chippewa County	City of Eau Claire French for "clear water"	107,903	637.98 sq mi (1,652 km2)
FlorenceCounty	037	Florence	1881	Marinette and Oconto Counties	Florence Hulst (1851-1942), the first white woman to settle in the area	4,682	488.20 sq mi (1,264 km2)
Fond du LacCounty	039	Fond du Lac	1836	Brown County	French for "bottom of the lake"	103,948	719.55 sq mi (1,864 km2)
ForestCounty	041	Crandon	1885	Langlade and Oconto Counties	Forest which covered the area when it was settled	9,325	1,014.07 sq mi (2,626 km2)
GrantCounty	043	Lancaster	1837	Iowa County	Probably a trader named Grant who made contact with area natives in 1810 but about whom little else is known	51,409	1,146.85 sq mi (2,970 km2)
GreenCounty	045	Monroe	1837	Iowa County and unorganized territory	Nathanael Greene (1742–86), quartermaster general during the American Revolutionary War	36,951	583.96 sq mi (1,512 km2)
Green LakeCounty	047	Green Lake	1858	Marquette County	Green Lake located within the county	19,344	349.44 sq mi (905 km2)
IowaCounty	049	Dodgeville	1829	Crawford County	Iowa tribe of Indians	23,956	762.58 sq mi (1,975 km2)
IronCounty	051	Hurley	1893	Ashland and Oneida Counties	Local iron deposits	6,228	758.17 sq mi (1,964 km2)
JacksonCounty	053	Black River Falls	1853	La Crosse County	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), President of the United States (1829–37)	20,855	987.72 sq mi (2,558 km2)
JeffersonCounty	055	Jefferson	1836	Milwaukee County	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), President of the United States (1801–09)	85,743	556.47 sq mi (1,441 km2)
JuneauCounty	057	Mauston	1856	Adams County	Solomon Juneau (1793–1856), founder of what would become Milwaukee	26,594	766.93 sq mi (1,986 km2)
KenoshaCounty	059	Kenosha	1850	Racine County	Indian word meaning "place of the pike"	167,488	271.99 sq mi (704 km2)
KewauneeCounty	061	Kewaunee	1852	Door County	Either a Potawatomi word meaning "river of the lost" or an Ojibwe word meaning "prairie hen" "wild duck" or "to go around"	20,690	342.52 sq mi (887 km2)
La CrosseCounty	063	La Crosse	1851	Crawford County	Indian game of lacrosse	120,486	451.69 sq mi (1,170 km2)
LafayetteCounty	065	Darlington	1846	Iowa County	Gilbert du Motier marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), a French general in the American Revolutionary War	16,945	633.59 sq mi (1,641 km2)
LangladeCounty	067	Antigo	1879	Oconto County	Charles de Langlade (1729 – c. 1800), American Revolutionary War veteran and United States Indian Agent in Green Bay	19,404	870.64 sq mi (2,255 km2)
LincolnCounty	069	Merrill	1874	Marathon County	Abraham Lincoln (1809–65), President of the United States (1861–65)	28,405	878.97 sq mi (2,277 km2)
ManitowocCounty	071	Manitowoc	1836	Brown County	Munedoo-owk, an Ojibwe word meaning "the place of the good spirit"	81,331	589.08 sq mi (1,526 km2)
MarathonCounty	073	Wausau	1850	Portage County	Marathon, Greece	138,612	1,544.98 sq mi (4,001 km2)
MarinetteCounty	075	Marinette	1879	Oconto County	Marie Antoinette Chevalier, Indian wife of an early fur trapper	42,106	1,399.35 sq mi (3,624 km2)
MarquetteCounty	077	Montello	1836	Brown County	Jacques Marquette (1637–75), missionary and explorer	15,838	455.60 sq mi (1,180 km2)
MenomineeCounty	078	Keshena	1959	Menominee Indian Reservation, Shawano, and Oconto Counties	Menominee Indians	4,226	357.61 sq mi (926 km2)
MilwaukeeCounty	079	Milwaukee	1834	Brown County	Mahnawaukee-Seepe, an Indian word meaning "gathering place by the river"	916,205	241.40 sq mi (625 km2)
MonroeCounty	081	Sparta	1854	La Crosse County	James Monroe (1758–1831), President of the United States (1817–25)	46,151	900.78 sq mi (2,333 km2)
OcontoCounty	083	Oconto	1851	Brown County	An Indian settlement and the Oconto River, whose name means "plentiful with fish"	39,775	997.99 sq mi (2,585 km2)
OneidaCounty	085	Rhinelander	1885	Lincoln County	Oneida Indians	38,226	1,112.97 sq mi (2,883 km2)
OutagamieCounty	087	Appleton	1851	Brown County	Outagamie Indians	193,234	637.52 sq mi (1,651 km2)
OzaukeeCounty	089	Port Washington	1853	Washington County	The Ojibwe word for the Sauk nation	93,460	233.08 sq mi (604 km2)
PepinCounty	091	Durand	1858	Dunn County	Pierre and Jean Pepin du Chardonnets, explorers	7,441	231.98 sq mi (601 km2)
PierceCounty	093	Ellsworth	1853	Saint Croix County	Franklin Pierce (1804–69), President of the United States (1853–57)	43,026	573.75 sq mi (1,486 km2)
PolkCounty	095	Balsam Lake	1853	Saint Croix County	James Polk (1795–1849), President of the United States (1845–49)	45,762	913.96 sq mi (2,367 km2)
PortageCounty	097	Stevens Point	1836	Brown, Crawford, Iowa, and Milwaukee Counties	Passage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers	71,024	800.68 sq mi (2,074 km2)
PriceCounty	099	Phillips	1879	Chippewa and Lincoln Counties	William T. Price (1824–86), Representative from Wisconsin (1883–86)	14,102	1,254.38 sq mi (3,249 km2)
RacineCounty	101	Racine	1836	Milwaukee County	Racine, the French word for "root", after the Root River, which flows through the county	196,613	332.5 sq mi (861 km2)
RichlandCounty	103	Richland Center	1842	Iowa County	The rich soil of the area	17,197	586.15 sq mi (1,518 km2)
RockCounty	105	Janesville	1836	Milwaukee County	Rock River, which flows through the county	164,278	718.14 sq mi (1,860 km2)
RuskCounty	107	Ladysmith	1901	Chippewa County	Jeremiah McLain Rusk (1830–93), Governor of Wisconsin (1882–89)	14,143	913.59 sq mi (2,366 km2)
SaukCounty	111	Baraboo	1840	Crawford, Dane and Portage Counties	Sauk Indians	65,920	830.9 sq mi (2,152 km2)
SawyerCounty	113	Hayward	1883	Ashland and Chippewa Counties	Philetus Sawyer (1816–1900), Representative (1865–75) and Senator (1881–93) from Wisconsin	18,552	1,257.31 sq mi (3,256 km2)
ShawanoCounty	115	Shawano	1853	Oconto County	An Ojibwe word meaning "southern"	41,109	893.06 sq mi (2,313 km2)
SheboyganCounty	117	Sheboygan	1836	Brown County	Shawb-wa-way-kun, an Indian word meaning "great noise underground"	117,752	511.27 sq mi (1,324 km2)
St. CroixCounty	109	Hudson	1840	Crawford County, and unorganized territory	An early French explorer named St. Croix, about whom little is known	96,763	722.33 sq mi (1,871 km2)
TaylorCounty	119	Medford	1875	Clark, Lincoln, Marathon and Chippewa Counties	William Robert Taylor (1820–1909), Governor of Wisconsin 1874–76	20,058	974.88 sq mi (2,525 km2)
TrempealeauCounty	121	Whitehall	1854	Buffalo, Chippewa, Jackson, and La Crosse Counties	Trempealeau Mountain (from the French for "mountain with its foot in the water"), a bluff located in a bend of the Trempealeau River, [10] which flows through the county	30,899	732.97 sq mi (1,898 km2)
VernonCounty	123	Viroqua	1851	Richland and Crawford Counties	Mount Vernon, home of George Washington	31,170	791.58 sq mi (2,050 km2)
VilasCounty	125	Eagle River	1893	Oneida County	William Vilas (1840–1908), officer in the Civil War United States Postmaster General (1885–88) United States Secretary of the Interior (1888–89) and Senator from Wisconsin (1891–97)	23,885	856.60 sq mi (2,219 km2)
WalworthCounty	127	Elkhorn	1836	Milwaukee County	Reuben Hyde Walworth (1788–1867), jurist from New York	105,822	555.13 sq mi (1,438 km2)
WashburnCounty	129	Shell Lake	1883	Burnett County	Cadwallader Washburn (1818–82), Governor (1872–74) and Representative from Wisconsin (1867–71)	16,930	797.11 sq mi (2,065 km2)
WashingtonCounty	131	West Bend	1836	Brown and Milwaukee Counties	George Washington (1732–99), American Revolutionary War leader (1775–83) and first President of the United States (1789–97)	138,168	430.70 sq mi (1,116 km2)
WaukeshaCounty	133	Waukesha	1846	Milwaukee County	Waugooshance, a Pottawatomi word meaning "little foxes"	412,591	549.57 sq mi (1,423 km2)
WaupacaCounty	135	Waupaca	1851	Brown and Winnebago Counties	wau-pa-ka-ho-nak, a Menominee word meaning "white sand bottom" or "brave young hero"	51,388	747.71 sq mi (1,937 km2)
WausharaCounty	137	Wautoma	1851	Marquette County	An Indian word meaning "good earth"	24,934	626.15 sq mi (1,622 km2)
WinnebagoCounty	139	Oshkosh	1840	Brown, Calumet, and Fond du Lac Counties	Winnebago Indians	171,735	434.49 sq mi (1,125 km2)
WoodCounty	141	Wisconsin Rapids	1856	Portage County	Joseph Wood (1809–90), state legislator (1856–58)	73,939	793.12 sq mi (2,054 km2)

Renamed counties

Five counties in Wisconsin have been renamed, but otherwise kept their same borders. ^[11]

• Bad Axe County existed from 1851 to 1862. It was named after the Bad Axe River and the Battle of Bad Axe. It was renamed to Vernon County in 1862. ^[12]
• Dallas County existed for 10 years, from 1859 to 1869. It was named after George M. Dallas, the 11th vice president of the United States. It was named to Barron County in 1869. ^[13]
• Gates County existed from 1901 to 1905. It was named after Milwaukee land speculator James L. Gates. ^[14] It was renamed to Rusk County in 1905. ^[15]
• La Pointe County existed from 1845 to 1866. In 1848, when Wisconsin achieved statehood, La Pointe County was split between Wisconsin and Minnesota. It was renamed to Bayfield County in 1866. ^[16]
• New County existed briefly between 1879 and 1880. It was formed from part of Oconto County. It was renamed to Langlade County in 1880. ^[17]

Proposed counties

Two proposed counties were ultimately not established.

• In 1850, Tuskola County was proposed as a new subdivision of Washington County. ^[9] The proposed borders lie within the modern Washington and Ozaukee counties. ^[18]

• In 1997, Century County was proposed, for creation after the year 2000, as a merger of Wood, Clark, and Marathon counties that would be centered around the city of Marshfield. The name was selected to represent "a new county for a new century". ^[19] Problems associated with Frac Sand mining rekindled the idea in 2012. ^[20]

See also

• BOW counties
• WOW counties
• Political subdivisions of Wisconsin
• List of cities in Wisconsin
• List of villages in Wisconsin
• List of towns in Wisconsin

References

1. Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn (1919). History of Buffalo and Pepin Counties, Wisconsin, Volume 1. Higginson Book Company. pp. 3–4. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
2. "Wisconsin QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2024. (2023 Census estimates)
3. "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
4. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
5. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 2011–2012 Blue Book Archived December 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine . Madison: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, 2011, p. 736.
6. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 2011–2012 Blue Book Archived December 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine . Madison: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, 2011, p. 732.
7. "NACo – Find a county". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
8. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 2011–2012 Blue Book Archived December 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine . Madison: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, 2011, p. 731.
9. Carver, Jonathon (1910). Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at its Fifty-Seventh Annual Meeting (1st ed.). Madison WI: Democrat Printing Company. (WV County Founding Dates and Etymology). Other editions available at ISBN   1130567257 and Google Books Archived April 4, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
10. Elkins, Winston (1985). Trempealeau and the Mississippi River Dam. Trempealeau County, WI: Trempealeau County Historical Society.
11. "Interactive Map of Wisconsin County Formation History". mapgeeks.org. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
12. History of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Viroqua, WI: Union Publishing. 1884. p.  132. (Bad Ax County). Other editions available: ISBN   1178120341 and Google Books
13. "Dictionary of Wisconsin History". Wisconsin Historical Society. Archived from the original on August 24, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
14. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  135.
15. Rusk County Museum Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
16. "Wisconsin Historical Society-La Pointe County, Wisconsin (obsolete)". Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
17. 'History of Langlade County, Wisconsin from U.S. Government Survey to Present Time, With Biographical Sketches,' Robert Dessueran, Bernier Bros Publishing Co., Antigo, Wisconsin: 1922, History of Langlade County, Chapter V: Organization of Langlade County, pg. 12
18. Wisconsin (1850). "Acts and Resolves Passed by the Legislature of Wisconsin". Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
19. Clark, Anita (September 28, 1997). "New county only solution to poor service, some say". The Journal Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
20. Kirkby, Sean (March 4, 2012). "Professor advocates creating a new state county". Badger Herald. The Badger Herald. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2012.

External links

• Wisconsin historical county boundaries map from Atlas of Historical County Boundaries at Newberry Library website