46,810 people (2024 Census estimate, +0.2% since 2020)
863 square miles of land · 54 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
14 active community water systems list Barron County in the area they serve, reporting 21,198 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| RICE LAKE WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6030138 | 9,012 served |
| BARRON LIGHT & WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · WI6030125 | 3,423 served |
| CUMBERLAND WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6030132 | 2,311 served |
| CHETEK WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6030129 | 1,931 served |
| CAMERON WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6030127 | 1,787 served |
| TURTLE LAKE WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6030142 | 1,073 served |
| ALMENA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6030124 | 705 served |
| DALLAS WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6030135 | 365 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 106 people were held in Barron County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 86.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
8 school districts have their office in Barron County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $38.9 million — $33.3 million to run schools, about $15,228 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $19.7 million local (mostly property tax), $20.3 million state, $3.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $16.2 million.
Spent $17.2 million — $14.8 million to run schools, about $12,859 per student, plus $200,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.6 million local (mostly property tax), $9.7 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $17.8 million.
Spent $38.9 million — $18.9 million to run schools, about $16,934 per student, plus $15.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.8 million local (mostly property tax), $15.8 million state, $3.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $24.7 million.
Spent $17.8 million — $15.6 million to run schools, about $15,822 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.2 million local (mostly property tax), $8.1 million state, $2.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $260,000.
Spent $22.7 million — $15.4 million to run schools, about $15,988 per student, plus $4.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10.1 million local (mostly property tax), $6.8 million state, $2.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $79,000.
Spent $8.3 million — $7 million to run schools, about $14,908 per student, plus $311,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.7 million local (mostly property tax), $3 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $56,000.
Spent $7.1 million — $6.2 million to run schools, about $16,268 per student, plus $128,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $3.6 million state, $824,000 federal. Long-term debt: $900,000.
Spent $6 million — $4.9 million to run schools, about $16,537 per student, plus $153,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.3 million local (mostly property tax), $2 million state, $853,000 federal. Long-term debt: $485,000.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Barron County about $26.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
319 bridges in Barron County: 149 in good condition, 149 fair, and 21 poor (6.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| USH 53 SB over CTH I · built 1972 | 6,200 vehicles a day |
| USH 53 SB over LRD 20TH ST · built 1972 | 5,850 vehicles a day |
| STH 48 over RED CEDAR RIVER · built 1987 | 2,000 vehicles a day |
| STH 25 over ENGLE CREEK · built 1951 | 1,700 vehicles a day |
| CTH F over DORRITY CREEK · built 1950 | 926 vehicles a day |
| CTH M over DRAINAGE CREEK · built 1985 | 920 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $20.7 million of work in Barron County in fiscal 2025, about $443 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Wisconsin are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Barron County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Barron County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Wisconsin: the state government and every county in Wisconsin.
Nearby counties: Polk County (29 mi) · Washburn County (32 mi) · Dunn County (34 mi) · Rusk County (35 mi) · Chippewa County (37 mi) · Burnett County (39 mi).