31,351 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.1% since 2020)
792 square miles of land · 40 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 Vernon County in the area they serve, reporting 12,744 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| VIROQUA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630263 | 4,362 served |
| WESTBY WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630267 | 2,400 served |
| HILLSBORO WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630257 | 1,325 served |
| STODDARD WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630262 | 793 served |
| COON VALLEY WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630252 | 765 served |
| LA FARGE WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630258 | 712 served |
| VIOLA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630269 | 667 served |
| ONTARIO WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6630259 | 554 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 76 people were held in Vernon County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 62.
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.
6 school districts have their office in Vernon County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $23.4 million — $17.1 million to run schools, about $16,393 per student, plus $3.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.1 million local (mostly property tax), $11.1 million state, $4 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.9 million.
Spent $23.1 million — $14.9 million to run schools, about $14,410 per student, plus $6.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.5 million local (mostly property tax), $12.3 million state, $2.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.2 million.
Spent $10.5 million — $9 million to run schools, about $17,984 per student, plus $805,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3 million local (mostly property tax), $5.8 million state, $2.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.5 million.
Spent $10.5 million — $7.5 million to run schools, about $15,972 per student, plus $2.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.1 million local (mostly property tax), $5 million state, $2.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.9 million.
Spent $9.2 million — $8 million to run schools, about $17,160 per student, plus $184,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.9 million local (mostly property tax), $4.6 million state, $1.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.4 million.
Spent $7.1 million — $4.7 million to run schools, about $18,712 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2 million local (mostly property tax), $3.1 million state, $1 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.8 million.
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 Vernon County about $25.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
334 bridges in Vernon County: 144 in good condition, 165 fair, and 25 poor (7.5%). “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.
| STH 131-COMMERCIAL over KICKAPOO RIVER · built 1982 | 1,100 vehicles a day |
| CTH S over BR W FK KICKAPOO RIVER · built 1960 | 651 vehicles a day |
| STH 162-N RIDGE RD over BR COON CREEK · built 1927 | 650 vehicles a day |
| STH 162 over BR COON CREEK · built 1927 | 650 vehicles a day |
| CTH P over BR W FK KICKAPOO RIVER · built 1935 | 575 vehicles a day |
| CTH D over BR OTTER CREEK · built 1967 | 420 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $17.5 million of work in Vernon County in fiscal 2025, about $570 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 Vernon 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 Vernon County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Wisconsin: the state government and every county in Wisconsin.
Nearby counties: Richland County (25 mi) · Crawford County (25 mi) · La Crosse County (26 mi) · Monroe County (26 mi) · Houston County, MN (34 mi) · Allamakee County, IA (36 mi).