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Iola, Wisconsin

Iola is a small town of about 1,200 people in Waupaca County, Wisconsin. It has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Milwaukee, is about 115 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,210
down 4.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$164,200
Waupaca County prices up 32% since 2022
Household income
$44,735
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Wisconsin
89.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Waupaca, WI
To Milwaukee
115 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Wisconsin outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Iola itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byThedacare Medical Center-Waupaca in Waupaca, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMilwaukee is about 115 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Iola meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$164,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 32%Waupaca County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$766 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$44,735U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
52%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,050 a yearWisconsin: $3,792
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Wisconsin outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 32% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Wisconsin outside metro areas, not Iola alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,2102020: 1,270
Median age
40.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Manufacturing (31%); schools, health care and social services (23%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Thedacare Medical Center-Waupaca, Waupaca, WI, about 12 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Aspirus Stevens Point Hospital & Clinics, INC., Stevens Point, WI, about 22 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Iola, run by Iola-Scandinavia School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Wisconsin's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
8°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
8 a year
Nights at or below freezing
162 a year
Rain and melted snow
33.8 inches a year
Snow
49 inches a year
Elevation
984 feet

Weather station: Waupaca (11 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Thedacare Medical Center-Waupaca, Appleton, Milwaukee.

Waupaca County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including J. & C. Wipf Mills.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ice Age National Scenic Trail45 miles

Read about Iola's history on Wikipedia.

Know Iola?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Scandinavia, WI364 people, 4 miles
  • Ogdensburg, WI178 people, 6 miles
  • Nelsonville, WI169 people, 9 miles
  • Amherst Junction, WI376 people, 10 miles
  • King, WI (unincorporated)1,399 people, 12 miles
  • Rosholt, WI465 people, 12 miles
  • Chain O' Lakes, WI (unincorporated)908 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.