A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Sumner$1,860/mo

Typical home $302K (Census) · tax rate 1.11% · or rent about $1,500/mo · Housing →

Chetek$1,940/mo

Typical home $318K (Census) · tax rate 1.04% · or rent about $940/mo · Housing →

The difference: $80 a month, about $900 a year, between Chetek and Sumner.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Wisconsin ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Health

–SumnerNot graded C+ChetekHealthier than 43% of U.S. towns

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

SumnerChetek

Snow a year53″53″

January low2°F 2°F

July high81°F 81°F

Growing season (days)145d 145d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)28th 43rd

Outdoors & history

SumnerChetek

Trails0 mi 3 mi

Conserved land2%1%

Archive photos—6

Community

SumnerChetek

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Wisconsin average

SumnerChetek

People

Population 729Lowest 1,670Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -12.4%Lowest WI: +3.6% +5%Highest WI: +3.6%

Median age 40.2±7.9Lowest about the WI average 54.9±3.7Highest 37% above WI

Kids under 18 31.3%±4.8Highest WI: 21.4% 15.9%±3.3Lowest WI: 21.4%

Age 65+ 20.2%±2.1Lowest WI: 18.5% 31.9%±4.3Highest WI: 18.5%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 17.1%Lowest WI: 33.4% 27.2%Highest WI: 33.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3%±2.4Highest WI: 5.8% 1.3%±0.8Lowest WI: 5.8%

Sumner and Chetek are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $79,286±$6kLowest about the WI average $95,357±$22kHighest 23% above WI

Chetek and Sumner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $302,100±$55kLowest 13% above WI $317,600±$37kHighest 19% above WI

Chetek and Sumner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,500±$385Highest 38% above WI $940±$577Lowest 14% below WI

Sumner and Chetek are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,355Highest 12% below WI $3,305Lowest 13% below WI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 64.3%±98.5Highest WI: 43.7% 0%±90.9Lowest WI: 43.7%

Sumner and Chetek are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 4%Highest WI: 10.6% 3.2%Lowest WI: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 94%Lowest WI: 67.8% 96.4%Highest WI: 67.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1987Highest 12 yrs newer than WI 1982Lowest 7 yrs newer than WI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 27 minHighest 21% above WI 23 minLowest about the WI average

Work from home 6%±3.2Lowest WI: 13.1% 12.9%±4.5Highest WI: 13.1%

Chetek and Sumner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0.3%Lowest 2.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.3 miLowest 23.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.58Highest 0.29Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Rice Lake (33%)Chetek (15%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in ChetekFew work in Sumner

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2%Highest 1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 2.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 1.5Lowest 4.9Highest

Wisconsin average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Sumner neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sumner’s Town Square.

Chetek neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Chetek’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Sumner

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Strickland321 people · $228K homes

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Doyle712 people · $341K homes

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Stanley2,549 people · $249K homes

Towns like Sumner

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Turtle Lake797 people · $260K homes

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Northfield587 people · $265K homes

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Cooks Valley839 people · $279K homes

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Stanton865 people · $266K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Sumner vs Chetek

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Sumner and Chetek share a border

A typical home costs about the same each month

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Sumner and Chetek

Bordering Sumner

Towns like Sumner

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