Columbus ranks #20 in Wisconsin for low obesity
Columbus is ranked on 36 lists against the 371 Wisconsin towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 9.
The lists Columbus does best on
Each list ranks every WI town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Columbus marked.
Columbus lands in the top half on 15 of 22 lists
Each dot is Columbus’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in WI, the right end is last. Areas where Columbus does best come first.
Steadier prices than 91% of Wisconsin
Not better or worse, just Columbus’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Where Columbus lands in every WI ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Health
Healthiest#1 Whitefish Bay · 98 / 100
#89
Lowest obesity#1 Mequon · 28%
#20
Fewest smokers#1 Whitefish Bay · 7%
#118
Most active#1 Whitefish Bay · 14%
#96
Fewest uninsured#1 Whitefish Bay · 4%
#115
Lowest depression#1 Brookfield · 19%
#78
Closest to a top hospital#1 Waukesha · 0.2 mi
#25 
Safety
Safest#1 Geneva · 2.6
#34 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Antigo · 1.4 yrs
#108
Cheapest rent#1 Bass Lake · $404/mo
#69
Lowest property tax#1 Stanley · $1,492/yr
#185
Rent easiest to afford#1 New Richmond · 20.8%
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Brockway · 65.5%
#290
Most trails#1 Williams Bay · 3.5 mi / sq mi
#64
Most walkable#1 Whitefish Bay · 158 / sq mi
#141 People
Most educated#1 Whitefish Bay · 81.9%
#241
Youngest#1 Whitewater · 22.1
#131
R
Oldest#1 Rome · 64.5
#240
R
Most residents 65+#1 Rome · 48.1%
#298
Most kids#1 Arcadia · 37.7%
#226 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Hayward · 12.3 min
#246 
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Stephenson · 55.7%
#289
Most new homes#1 DeForest · 26.3 per 1,000
#270
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Algoma · +89.8%
#316
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Whitefish Bay · 31.3 per home
#28 
The number on the right is Columbus’s spot. All of Wisconsin’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every WI list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.