51,171 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.2% since 2020)
748 square miles of land · 68 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.
12 active community water systems list Waupaca County in the area they serve, reporting 25,115 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| NEW LONDON WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI4690398 | 7,187 served |
| WAUPACA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI4690402 | 6,062 served |
| CLINTONVILLE UTILITIES groundwater · local government · WI4690391 | 4,635 served |
| WEYAUWEGA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI4690403 | 1,820 served |
| MANAWA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI4690345 | 1,300 served |
| MARION WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI4690396 | 1,293 served |
| IOLA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI4690394 | 1,249 served |
| WISCONSIN VETERANS HOME groundwater · state · WI4690395 | 950 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 162 people were held in Waupaca County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 185.
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 Waupaca County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $36 million — $27.7 million to run schools, about $13,181 per student, plus $4.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.3 million local (mostly property tax), $22.1 million state, $3.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.4 million.
Spent $34.5 million — $31.3 million to run schools, about $15,644 per student, plus $860,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $12 million local (mostly property tax), $17.7 million state, $4.4 million federal.
Spent $35.8 million — $18 million to run schools, about $15,223 per student, plus $13.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.8 million local (mostly property tax), $13.8 million state, $3.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $26 million.
Spent $27.8 million — $19.6 million to run schools, about $16,792 per student, plus $5.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10 million local (mostly property tax), $11.5 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $30.1 million.
Spent $15.5 million — $11.7 million to run schools, about $14,234 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.6 million local (mostly property tax), $6.7 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $16.7 million.
Spent $11.6 million — $9.8 million to run schools, about $17,128 per student, plus $116,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.1 million local (mostly property tax), $6.1 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.4 million.
Spent $9.8 million — $7.7 million to run schools, about $13,732 per student, plus $441,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.4 million local (mostly property tax), $6.2 million state, $1 million federal. Long-term debt: $10.8 million.
Spent $8 million — $6.5 million to run schools, about $14,138 per student, plus $405,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $4.3 million state, $1.6 million federal.
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 Waupaca County about $23.8 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.
168 bridges in Waupaca County: 124 in good condition, 38 fair, and 6 poor (3.6%). “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 10 WB over STH 49S - STH 54W · built 1965 | 10,350 vehicles a day |
| LRD HEMLOCK ST over PIGEON RIVER · built 1958 | 2,500 vehicles a day |
| CTH B over LITTLE WOLF RIVER · built 1949 | 1,169 vehicles a day |
| LRD QUARTER LINE R over S BR PIGEON RIVER · built 1925 | 220 vehicles a day |
| LRD BUCKBEE RD over S BR PIGEON RIVER · built 1930 | 125 vehicles a day |
| LRD BIGALKE RD over S BR LITTLE WOLF RIVER · built 1890 | 56 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $36.8 million of work in Waupaca County in fiscal 2025, about $711 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 Waupaca 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 Waupaca County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Wisconsin: the state government and every county in Wisconsin.
Nearby counties: Shawano County (24 mi) · Outagamie County (25 mi) · Portage County (26 mi) · Waushara County (29 mi) · Winnebago County (31 mi) · Menominee County (38 mi).