List of counties in Wisconsin

The state of Wisconsin in the 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.

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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 In most counties, elected coroners have been replaced by appointed medical examiners.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.

The most populous county in the state is Milwaukee County at 947,735 people at the 2010 census.^[4] Its population is bolstered by the city of Milwaukee's 594,833 people.^[4] The county with the least population is Menominee County with 4232 residents; the Menominee Indian Reservation is co-extensive with the county.^[4] 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).^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

List of counties

County	FIPS code [6]	County seat [7]	Established [8]	Formed from [9]	Etymology [9]	Population [4][7]	Area [4]	Map
Adams County	001	Friendship	1848	Portage County	John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) President of the United States (1825-29)	700420875000000000020,875	7002645650000000000645.65 sq mi (70031672000000000001,672 km2)
Ashland County	003	Ashland	1860	unorganized territory	Ashland Henry Clay's estate in Kentucky	700416157000000000016,157	70031045040000000001,045.04 sq mi (70032707000000000002,707 km2)
Barron County	005	Barron	1859	Polk County	Henry D. Barron state senator and circuit court judge.	700445870000000000045,870	7002862710000000000862.71 sq mi (70032234000000000002,234 km2)
Bayfield County	007	Washburn	1845	Ashland County	Henry Bayfield Royal naval officer and first to survey Great Lakes area	700415014000000000015,014	70031477860000000001,477.86 sq mi (70033828000000000003,828 km2)
Brown County	009	Green Bay	1818	Michilimackinac	Major General Jacob Brown (1775-1828) commanding general of the United States Army during the War of 1812	7005248007000000000248,007	7002529710000000000529.71 sq mi (70031372000000000001,372 km2)
Buffalo County	011	Alma	1853	Trempealeau County	The Buffalo River which flows through the county.	700413587000000000013,587	7002671640000000000671.64 sq mi (70031740000000000001,740 km2)
Burnett County	013	Siren	1856	Polk County	Thomas P. Burnett state legislator	700415457000000000015,457	7002821850000000000821.85 sq mi (70032129000000000002,129 km2)
Calumet County	015	Chilton	1836	unorganized territory	The French word for a Menominee peace pipe.	700448971000000000048,971	7002318240000000000318.24 sq mi (7002824000000000000824 km2)
Chippewa County	017	Chippewa Falls	1845	Crawford County	The Ojibwe nation of Native Americans (historically referred to as Chippewa)	700462415000000000062,415	70031008370000000001,008.37 sq mi (70032612000000000002,612 km2)
Clark County	019	Neillsville	1853	Crawford County	George Rogers Clark (1752-1812) Revolutionary War general	700434690000000000034,690	70031209820000000001,209.82 sq mi (70033133000000000003,133 km2)
Columbia County	021	Portage	1846	Portage County	Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) navigator and explorer	700456833000000000056,833	7002765530000000000765.53 sq mi (70031983000000000001,983 km2)
Crawford County	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	700416644000000000016,644	7002570660000000000570.66 sq mi (70031478000000000001,478 km2)
Dane County	025	Madison	1836	unorganized territory	Nathan Dane (1752-1835) delegate to the First Continental Congress (1785-88)	7005488073000000000488,073	70031197240000000001,197.24 sq mi (70033101000000000003,101 km2)
Dodge County	027	Juneau	1836	unorganized territory	Henry Dodge (1782-1867) Territorial Governor of Wisconsin (1848-57)	700488759000000000088,759	7002875630000000000875.63 sq mi (70032268000000000002,268 km2)
Door County	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	700427785000000000027,785	7002481980000000000481.98 sq mi (70031248000000000001,248 km2)
Douglas County	031	Superior	1854	unorganized territory	Stephen Douglas (1813-61) United States Senator 1847-61	700444159000000000044,159	70031304140000000001,304.14 sq mi (70033378000000000003,378 km2)
Dunn County	033	Menomonie	1854	Chippewa County	Charles Dunn state senator and chief justice of Wisconsin Territory	700443857000000000043,857	7002850110000000000850.11 sq mi (70032202000000000002,202 km2)
Eau Claire County	035	Eau Claire	1856	Chippewa County	City of Eau Claire French for "clear water"	700498736000000000098,736	7002637980000000000637.98 sq mi (70031652000000000001,652 km2)
Florence County	037	Florence (CDP)	1881	Marinette and Oconto Counties	Florence Julst the first white woman to settle in the area	70034423000000000004,423	7002488200000000000488.20 sq mi (70031264000000000001,264 km2)
Fond du Lac County	039	Fond du Lac	1836	unorganized territory	French for "foot of the lake"	7005101633000000000101,633	7002719550000000000719.55 sq mi (70031864000000000001,864 km2)
Forest County	041	Crandon	1885	Langlade and Oconto Counties	Forest which covered the area when it was settled	70039304000000000009,304	70031014070000000001,014.07 sq mi (70032626000000000002,626 km2)
Grant County	043	Lancaster	1836	unorganized territory	Probably a trader named Grant who made contact with area natives in 1810 but about whom little else is known	700451208000000000051,208	70031146850000000001,146.85 sq mi (70032970000000000002,970 km2)
Green County	045	Monroe	1836	unorganized territory	Nathanael Greene (1742-86) quartermaster general during the American Revolutionary War	700436842000000000036,842	7002583960000000000583.96 sq mi (70031512000000000001,512 km2)
Green Lake County	047	Green Lake	1858	Marquette District	Green Lake located within the county	700419051000000000019,051	7002349440000000000349.44 sq mi (7002905000000000000905 km2)
Iowa County	049	Dodgeville	1829	unorganized territory	Iowa tribe of Native American	700423687000000000023,687	7002762580000000000762.58 sq mi (70031975000000000001,975 km2)
Iron County	051	Hurley	1893	Ashland and Oneida Counties	Local iron deposits	70035916000000000005,916	7002758170000000000758.17 sq mi (70031964000000000001,964 km2)
Jackson County	053	Black River Falls	1853	La Crosse County	Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) President of the United States 1829–37	700420449000000000020,449	7002987720000000000987.72 sq mi (70032558000000000002,558 km2)
Jefferson County	055	Jefferson	1836	Milwaukee County	Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) President of the United States (1801-09)	700483686000000000083,686	7002556470000000000556.47 sq mi (70031441000000000001,441 km2)
Juneau County	057	Mauston	1856	Adams County	Solomon Juneau (1793-1856) founder of what would become Milwaukee	700426664000000000026,664	7002766930000000000766.93 sq mi (70031986000000000001,986 km2)
Kenosha County	059	Kenosha	1850	Racine County	Native American word meaning "place of the pike"	7005166426000000000166,426	7002271990000000000271.99 sq mi (7002704000000000000704 km2)
Kewaunee County	061	Kewaunee	1852	Manitowoc County	Either a Potawatomi word meaning "river of the lost" or an Ojibwe word meaning "prairie hen" "wild duck" or "to go around"	700420574000000000020,574	7002342520000000000342.52 sq mi (7002887000000000000887 km2)
La Crosse County	063	La Crosse	1851	unorganized territory	Native American game of lacrosse	7005114638000000000114,638	7002451690000000000451.69 sq mi (70031170000000000001,170 km2)
Lafayette County	065	Darlington	1846	Iowa County	Gilbert du Motier marquis de La Fayette (1757-1834) a French general in the American Revolutionary War	700416836000000000016,836	7002633590000000000633.59 sq mi (70031641000000000001,641 km2)
Langlade County	067	Antigo	1879	unorganized territory	Charles de Langlade (1729 – c.1800) American Revolutionary War veteran and United States Indian Agent in Green Bay	700419977000000000019,977	7002870640000000000870.64 sq mi (70032255000000000002,255 km2)
Lincoln County	069	Merrill	1874	Marathon County	Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) President of the United States 1861-65	700428743000000000028,743	7002878970000000000878.97 sq mi (70032277000000000002,277 km2)
Manitowoc County	071	Manitowoc	1836	unorganized territory	Munedoo-owk, a Ojibwe word meaning "the place of the good spirit"	700481442000000000081,442	7002589080000000000589.08 sq mi (70031526000000000001,526 km2)
Marathon County	073	Wausau	1850	Portage County	Marathon, Greece	7005134063000000000134,063	70031544980000000001,544.98 sq mi (70034001000000000004,001 km2)
Marinette County	075	Marinette	1879	Oconto County	Marie Antoinette Chevalier, Native American wife of early an fur trapper	700441749000000000041,749	70031399350000000001,399.35 sq mi (70033624000000000003,624 km2)
Marquette County	077	Montello	1836	Marquette District	Father Pere Jacques Marquette (1637-75) missionary and explorer	700415404000000000015,404	7002455600000000000455.60 sq mi (70031180000000000001,180 km2)
Menominee County	078	Keshena	1959	Menominee Indian Reservation,Shawano, and Oconto Counties	Menominee nation of Native Americans	70034232000000000004,232	7002357610000000000357.61 sq mi (7002926000000000000926 km2)
Milwaukee County	079	Milwaukee	1834	unorganized territory	Mahnawaukee-Seepe a Native American word meaning "gathering place by the river"	7005947735000000000947,735	7002241400000000000241.40 sq mi (7002625000000000000625 km2)
Monroe County	081	Sparta	1854	La Crosse County	James Monroe (1758-1831) President of the United States (1817-25)	700444673000000000044,673	7002900780000000000900.78 sq mi (70032333000000000002,333 km2)
Oconto County	083	Oconto	1851	unorganized territory	A Native American settlement and the Oconto River, whose name means "plentiful with fish"	700437660000000000037,660	7002997990000000000997.99 sq mi (70032585000000000002,585 km2)
Oneida County	085	Rhinelander	1885	Lincoln County	Oneida nation of Native Americans	700435998000000000035,998	70031112970000000001,112.97 sq mi (70032883000000000002,883 km2)
Outagamie County	087	Appleton	1851	Brown County	Outagamie nation of Native Americans	7005176695000000000176,695	7002637520000000000637.52 sq mi (70031651000000000001,651 km2)
Ozaukee County	089	Port Washington	1853	Milwaukee County	The Ojibwe word for the Sauk nation	700486395000000000086,395	7002233080000000000233.08 sq mi (7002604000000000000604 km2)
Pepin County	091	Durand	1858	Dunn County	Pierre and Jean Pepin du Chardonnets, explorers	70037469000000000007,469	7002231980000000000231.98 sq mi (7002601000000000000601 km2)
Pierce County	093	Ellsworth	1853	Saint Croix County	Franklin Pierce (1804-69), President of the United States (1853-57)	700441019000000000041,019	7002573750000000000573.75 sq mi (70031486000000000001,486 km2)
Polk County	095	Balsam Lake	1853	Saint Croix County	James Polk (1795-1849) President of the United States (1845-49)	700444205000000000044,205	7002913960000000000913.96 sq mi (70032367000000000002,367 km2)
Portage County	097	Stevens Point	1836	unorganized territory	Passage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers	700470019000000000070,019	7002800680000000000800.68 sq mi (70032074000000000002,074 km2)
Price County	099	Phillips	1879	Chippewa and Lincoln Counties	William T. Price (1824-86) United States Congressman (1883-86)	700414159000000000014,159	70031254380000000001,254.38 sq mi (70033249000000000003,249 km2)
Racine County	101	Racine	1836	unorganized territory	Racine, the French word for "root", after the Root River, which flows through the county	7005195408000000000195,408	7002332500000000000332.5 sq mi (7002861000000000000861 km2)
Richland County	103	Richland Center	1842	Iowa County	The rich soil of the area	700418021000000000018,021	7002586150000000000586.15 sq mi (70031518000000000001,518 km2)
Rock County	105	Janesville	1836	unorganized territory	Rock River, which flows through the county	7005160331000000000160,331	7002718140000000000718.14 sq mi (70031860000000000001,860 km2)
Rusk County	107	Ladysmith	1901	Chippewa County	Jeremiah McLain Rusk (1830-93), Governor of Wisconsin 1882-89	700414755000000000014,755	7002913590000000000913.59 sq mi (70032366000000000002,366 km2)
Sauk County	111	Baraboo	1840	unorganized territory	Sauk nation of Native Americans	700461976000000000061,976	7002830900000000000830.9 sq mi (70032152000000000002,152 km2)
Sawyer County	113	Hayward	1883	Oconto County	Philetus Sawyer (1816-1900) United States Representative (1865-75) and Senator (1881-93) from Wisconsin	700416557000000000016,557	70031257310000000001,257.31 sq mi (70033256000000000003,256 km2)
Shawano County	115	Shawano	1853	Oconto County	A Ojibwe word meaning "southern"	700441949000000000041,949	7002893060000000000893.06 sq mi (70032313000000000002,313 km2)
Sheboygan County	117	Sheboygan	1836	unorganized territory	Shawb-wa-way-kun, a Native American word meaning "great noise underground"	7005115507000000000115,507	7002511270000000000511.27 sq mi (70031324000000000001,324 km2)
St. Croix County	109	Hudson	1840	unorganized territory	An early French explorer named St. Croix, about whom little is known	700484345000000000084,345	7002722330000000000722.33 sq mi (70031871000000000001,871 km2)
Taylor County	119	Medford	1875	Clark, Lincoln, Marathon and Chippewa Counties	William Robert Taylor (1820-1909), Governor of Wisconsin 1874-76	700420689000000000020,689	7002974880000000000974.88 sq mi (70032525000000000002,525 km2)
Trempealeau County	121	Whitehall	1854	Crawford 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	700428816000000000028,816	7002732970000000000732.97 sq mi (70031898000000000001,898 km2)
Vernon County	123	Viroqua	1851	Richland and Crawford Counties	George Washington	700429773000000000029,773	7002791580000000000791.58 sq mi (70032050000000000002,050 km2)
Vilas County	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)	700421430000000000021,430	7002856600000000000856.60 sq mi (70032219000000000002,219 km2)
Walworth County	127	Elkhorn	1836	unorganized territory	Reuben Hyde Walworth (1788-1867) jurist from New York	7005102228000000000102,228	7002555130000000000555.13 sq mi (70031438000000000001,438 km2)
Washburn County	129	Shell Lake	1883	Burnett County	Cadwallader Washburn (1818-82) Governor of Wisconsin (1872–74) and Representative from Wisconsin (1867–71)	700415911000000000015,911	7002797110000000000797.11 sq mi (70032065000000000002,065 km2)
Washington County	131	West Bend	1836	unorganized territory	George Washington (1732-99) American Revolutionary War leader (1775–83) and first President of the United States (1789–97)	7005131887000000000131,887	7002430700000000000430.70 sq mi (70031116000000000001,116 km2)
Waukesha County	133	Waukesha	1846	Milwaukee County	Waugooshance a Pottawatomi word meaning "little foxes"	7005389891000000000389,891	7002549570000000000549.57 sq mi (70031423000000000001,423 km2)
Waupaca County	135	Waupaca	1851	Brown and Winnebago Counties	wau-pa-ka-ho-nak a Menominee word meaning "white sand bottom" or "brave young hero"	700452410000000000052,410	7002747710000000000747.71 sq mi (70031937000000000001,937 km2)
Waushara County	137	Wautoma	1851	Marquette County	A Native American word meaning "good earth"	700424496000000000024,496	7002626150000000000626.15 sq mi (70031622000000000001,622 km2)
Winnebago County	139	Oshkosh	1840	land of the Menominee and Ho Chunk Native Americans[11]	Winnebago nation of Native Americans	7005166994000000000166,994	7002434490000000000434.49 sq mi (70031125000000000001,125 km2)
Wood County	141	Wisconsin Rapids	1856	Portage County	Joseph Wood (1809-90) state legislator (1856-58)	700474749000000000074,749	7002793120000000000793.12 sq mi (70032054000000000002,054 km2)

Renamed and proposed counties

See also

• Political subdivisions of Wisconsin
• List of cities in Wisconsin
• List of villages in Wisconsin
• List of towns in Wisconsin

References

State of Wisconsin Madison (capital) Topics History Governors Delegations Sports People Geography Visitor attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Apostle Islands Central Plain Chippewa Valley Door Peninsula Driftless Area Eastern Ridges and Lowlands Fox River Valley Great River Road Lake Superior Lowland Northern Highland Western Upland Major metropolitan areas (pop. over 500,000) Chicago metropolitan area Madison metropolitan area Milwaukee metropolitan area Twin Cities metropolitan area Largest cities (pop. over 50,000) Appleton Eau Claire Green Bay Janesville Kenosha La Crosse Madison Milwaukee Oshkosh Racine Waukesha West Allis Smaller cities (pop. 15,000 to 50,000) Beaver Dam Beloit Brookfield Cudahy De Pere Fitchburg Fond du Lac Franklin Greenfield Hudson Kaukauna Manitowoc Marshfield Menasha Menomonie Mequon Middleton Muskego Neenah New Berlin Oak Creek Oconomowoc Onalaska River Falls Sheboygan South Milwaukee Stevens Point Sun Prairie Superior Watertown Wausau Wauwatosa West Bend Wisconsin Rapids Largest villages (pop. over 15,000) Allouez Ashwaubenon Caledonia Germantown Howard Menomonee Falls Mount Pleasant Pleasant Prairie Counties Adams Ashland Barron Bayfield Brown Buffalo Burnett Calumet Chippewa Clark Columbia Crawford Dane Dodge Door Douglas Dunn Eau Claire Florence Fond du Lac Forest Grant Green Green Lake Iowa Iron Jackson Jefferson Juneau Kenosha Kewaunee La Crosse Lafayette Langlade Lincoln Manitowoc Marathon Marinette Marquette Menominee Milwaukee Monroe Oconto Oneida Outagamie Ozaukee Pepin Pierce Polk Portage Price Racine Richland Rock Rusk Sauk Sawyer Shawano Sheboygan St. Croix Taylor Trempealeau Vernon Vilas Walworth Washburn Washington Waukesha Waupaca Waushara Winnebago Wood