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Washburn, Wisconsin

Washburn is a small town of about 2,000 people in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 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, Minneapolis, is about 164 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
2,045
up 0.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$178,900
Bayfield County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$62,128
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Wisconsin
89.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Ashland, WI
To Minneapolis
164 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 2.9 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 Washburn 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byTamarack Health Ashland Medical Center in Ashland, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 164 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 Washburn 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
$178,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Bayfield County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$798 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,128U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,614 a yearWisconsin: $3,792
Homes built before 1940
29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
6%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 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Wisconsin outside metro areas, not Washburn 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
2,0452020: 2,042
Median age
51.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
31%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
37%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

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
Schools, health care and social services (21%); retail (18%); manufacturing (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Tamarack Health Ashland Medical Center, Ashland, WI, about 8 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: St. Lukes Hospital, Duluth, MN, about 57 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

3 public schools in Washburn, run by Washburn 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
69%U.S.: 76%

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
4°F
July average high
77°F
Days 90°F or hotter
1 a year
Nights at or below freezing
185 a year
Rain and melted snow
31.5 inches a year
Snow
74 inches a year
Elevation
753 feet

Weather stations: Bayfield Fish Hatchery (8 miles away) and Madeline Island (10 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Tamarack Health Ashland Medical Center, Duluth, Minneapolis.

Bayfield County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the East Third Street Residential Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Apostle Islands National Lakeshore5 miles
  • Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway33 miles
  • North Country National Scenic Trail47 miles

Read about Washburn's history on Wikipedia.

Know Washburn?

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

  • Bayfront, WI (unincorporated)135 people, 6 miles
  • Diaperville, WI (unincorporated)109 people, 10 miles
  • Bayfield, WI589 people, 10 miles
  • New Odanah, WI (unincorporated)275 people, 13 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.