Bayfield County, Wisconsin

Bayfield County is a county in Wisconsin, United States, on the south shore of Lake Superior facing the Apostle Islands. It had a population of 16,220 at the 2020 census and covers 2,042 square miles (5,290 km2) — 1,478 square miles (3,830 km2) of land and 564 square miles (1,460 km2) of water — centred near 46°38′N 91°11′W.

Washburn is the county seat, and its postal code is 54891. The county has 3 cities, 1 village and 25 organized towns, plus a scatter of unincorporated communities. Bayfield County is in the Central time zone; its FIPS code is 55007.

Towns & Villages in Bayfield County

Bayfield County’s population is spread thin across a mostly forested, lake-fringed landscape — no single place holds even a fifth of the county total. The table below lists the incorporated cities and village plus the unincorporated communities carried over from the county’s place list. “Unincorp.” marks a named community with no city or village government of its own; it sits inside one of the county’s 25 organized towns (Wisconsin’s township-equivalent civil divisions).

Two names from older listings were dropped: “Ashland” is a city seated almost entirely in neighboring Ashland County (only a sliver of its platted area touches Bayfield County, and its post office and city government are Ashland County’s), and “Sioux,” “Sutherland,” “Topside,” “Wills,” “Radspur,” “Salmo,” “Leonards,” “Muskeg” and “Pureair” are historic rail-siding or logging-camp names with no verifiable current ZIP, population, or place record — see notes for detail.

ZIP Codes

• 54891 — Washburn (also serves Barksdale, Ashland Junction, Pike River)
• 54814 — Bayfield (also serves Red Cliff, Bark Point, Sand Bay)
• 54856 — Mason (also serves Delta)
• 54810 — Benoit (also serves Oulu)
• 54821 — Cable (also serves Ino, Lake Owen, Namekagon)
• 54827 — Cornucopia
• 54832 — Drummond
• 54839 — Grand View
• 54844 — Herbster
• 54847 — Iron River
• 54845 — Moquah
• 54865 — Port Wing

A handful of very small crossroads communities share their nearest town’s ZIP code rather than carrying their own.

Geography

Bayfield County lies at the northern tip of Wisconsin, its shoreline broken by sea caves, sand spits and the 21 Apostle Islands, most of them protected inside the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Inland, the county is heavily forested — much of it within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest — with the Bayfield Peninsula, the Bad River and Namekagon River watersheds, and hundreds of small glacial lakes including Lake Owen. It borders Ashland County to the east, Sawyer County to the south, Washburn County to the southwest, Douglas County to the west, and Lake County, Minnesota across Lake Superior to the north.

Demographics

At the 2020 census, Bayfield County had 16,220 residents, a density of about 11 people per square mile of land — among the least densely settled counties in Wisconsin. Washburn (2,051) and Bayfield (584) are its two largest incorporated places; the rest of the population lives in the county’s 25 towns and their unincorporated communities. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, headquartered on the Red Cliff Reservation near Bayfield, is a significant part of the county’s population and economy. Median household income runs below the Wisconsin median of $74,631, reflecting the county’s seasonal-tourism and resource-based economy.

Economy & Local Life

Tourism drives much of Bayfield County’s economy — sailing, sea kayaking and lighthouse tours to the Apostle Islands, apple orchards around Bayfield, and cross-country ski trails around Cable and Drummond. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is among the county’s largest employers, operating a casino, marina and fishery near Red Cliff. Commercial fishing, forestry and small-scale dairy and hay farming remain part of the local economy away from the lakeshore. Bayfield’s Apple Festival each October is the county’s largest annual event, drawing tens of thousands of visitors.

History

Bayfield County was created in 1845 as La Pointe County and organized in 1850. It was renamed Bayfield County on April 12, 1866, after Douglas and Ashland counties were split off from its original, much larger territory — the name honors Henry Bayfield, a British Royal Navy surveyor who charted Lake Superior in the 1820s. The Red Cliff Reservation, established by an 1854 treaty, predates the modern county boundary. Logging and commercial fishing shaped the county’s early economy before tourism took over through the 20th century.

Getting There

US Highway 2 crosses the southern part of the county east-west, and US Highway 63 and Wisconsin Highways 13, 27, 118 and 137 provide the main north-south links to the lakeshore towns.

• Ashland — 20 miles east
• Duluth, Minnesota — 75 miles west
• Superior, Wisconsin — 65 miles west
• Eau Claire — 130 miles south

The nearest commercial airport is Duluth International Airport (DLH), about 75 miles west; Sawyer County Airport in Hayward is closer for general aviation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Bayfield County, Wisconsin?
It occupies the northern tip of Wisconsin on the south shore of Lake Superior, facing the Apostle Islands.

What is the population of Bayfield County?
16,220 at the 2020 census.

How big is Bayfield County?
2,042 square miles (5,290 km2) total, of which 1,478 square miles is land.

What is the county seat of Bayfield County?
Washburn is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Bayfield County?
3 cities, 1 village, 25 organized towns and numerous smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Bayfield County?
Washburn’s postal code is 54891; other ZIPs in the county include 54814 (Bayfield), 54856 (Mason) and 54821 (Cable), among others.

What is Bayfield County’s largest annual event?
The Bayfield Apple Festival every October, drawing roughly 60,000 visitors to a city of just 584 residents.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Wisconsin.