Columbia County is a county in Wisconsin, United States, centred on the historic portage between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. It had a population of 58,490 at the 2020 census and covers 796 square miles (2,060 km2) — 766 square miles of land and 30 square miles of water — centred near 43°28′N 89°20′W.
Portage is the county seat, and its postal code is 53901. The county has 4 cities, 10 villages and 21 towns, plus a number of small unincorporated communities scattered through the towns. It sits in the Central time zone and carries FIPS code 55021.
Towns & Villages in Columbia County
Columbia County’s cities and villages are concentrated along the Wisconsin River and the I-39/90/94 corridor, with the surrounding towns holding smaller unincorporated crossroads communities. Two places straddle county lines — Wisconsin Dells and Columbus — and are covered in more detail below. CDP = census-designated place (unincorporated); Unincorp. = a smaller unincorporated community with no separate census count.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage | City · seat | — | — | 53901 |
| Wisconsin Dells | City | — | — | 53965 |
| Columbus | City | — | — | 53925 |
| Lodi | City | — | — | 53555 |
| Arlington | Village | — | — | 53911 |
| Cambria | Village | — | — | 53923 |
| Doylestown | Village | — | — | 53928 |
| Fall River | Village | — | — | 53932 |
| Friesland | Village | — | — | 53935 |
| Pardeeville | Village | — | — | 53954 |
| Poynette | Village | — | — | 53955 |
| Randolph | Village | — | — | 53956 |
| Rio | Village | — | — | 53960 |
| Wyocena | Village | — | — | 53969 |
| Durward’s Glen | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| East Friesland | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lake Wisconsin | Unincorp. | Dekorra | — | — |
| Leeds Center | Unincorp. | Leeds | — | — |
| North Leeds | Unincorp. | Leeds | — | — |
| Okee | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
Wisconsin Dells is a city divided among four counties — Columbia, Adams, Juneau and Sauk — and its ZIP code above serves the whole city, not just the Columbia County share. Columbus likewise straddles the Columbia–Dodge county line, and Randolph is mostly across the line in Dodge County, with only a small edge inside Columbia.
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Winnebago | — | Fort Winnebago historic site, rural Portage |
| Pacific | — | rural |
| Dekorra | — | Lake Wisconsin, Okee |
| West Point | — | rural, Wisconsin River bluffs |
| Lodi | — | rural land around the city of Lodi |
| Caledonia | — | Durward’s Glen area |
| Leeds | — | Leeds Center, North Leeds |
| Arlington | — | village of Arlington |
| Columbus | — | rural land around the city of Columbus |
| Courtland | — | rural |
| Fountain Prairie | — | rural |
| Hampden | — | rural |
| Lewiston | — | rural |
| Lowville | — | rural |
| Marcellon | — | rural |
| Newport | — | rural, part of the Wisconsin Dells area |
| Otsego | — | rural |
| Randolph | — | rural land around the village of Randolph |
| Scott | — | rural |
| Springvale | — | rural |
| Wyocena | — | village of Wyocena |
ZIP Codes
- 53901 — Portage (also serves Fort Winnebago and Pacific townships)
- 53965 — Wisconsin Dells (also serves the Newport township portion of the county)
- 53925 — Columbus (also serves the surrounding township)
- 53555 — Lodi
- 53911 — Arlington
- 53923 — Cambria
- 53928 — Doylestown
- 53932 — Fall River
- 53935 — Friesland
- 53954 — Pardeeville
- 53955 — Poynette
- 53956 — Randolph
- 53960 — Rio
- 53969 — Wyocena
Small unincorporated places such as Durward’s Glen, Leeds Center, North Leeds and Okee have no ZIP code of their own and use the code of the nearest post office town.
Geography
Columbia County sits astride the Wisconsin River at the historic portage that once connected the Fox and Wisconsin waterways — the reason Portage carries its name. The southwestern corner rises into the Baraboo Range, the county’s highest ground at 1,480 feet above sea level near Durward’s Glen; the rest of the county is rolling farmland typical of south-central Wisconsin, with Lake Wisconsin, a Wisconsin River impoundment, forming part of the western boundary.
Columbia County borders Marquette County to the north, Green Lake County to the northeast, Dodge County to the east, Dane County to the south, Sauk County to the west, and Juneau County and Adams County to the northwest.
Demographics
Columbia County’s population was 58,490 at the 2020 census, giving a density of about 76 people per square mile. Portage and Wisconsin Dells are the county’s two largest communities. Median household income in the county tracks close to the Wisconsin median of $74,631, with the rural townships generally below that figure and the Madison-commuter towns in the south, near Lodi and Arlington, running above it.
Economy & Local Life
Portage is the county’s economic anchor, home to Divine Savior Healthcare and the Columbia Correctional Institution, a maximum-security state prison and one of the county’s largest employers. Agriculture — dairying and row crops — still dominates the rural townships, while the Wisconsin Dells side of the county benefits from spillover tourism traffic tied to the Dells’ water parks and Wisconsin River gorge, even though most of the Dells tourist strip itself sits across the line in Sauk and Adams counties. Lodi and Columbus each keep small manufacturing and agribusiness bases.
History
Columbia County was organized in 1846, two years before Wisconsin statehood, and takes its name from “Columbia,” the patriotic personification of the United States common in county names of that era. Its most historically significant site is Fort Winnebago, an 1828 U.S. Army post built at the Fox–Wisconsin portage to oversee the lead-mining frontier and relations with the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people; the surviving Indian Agency House is preserved as a museum near Portage. The city of Portage itself grew up around that portage crossing, one of the most important inland trade routes of the pre-railroad Midwest.
Getting There
Interstates 39, 90 and 94 run concurrently through the county near Portage, and U.S. Highway 51 and State Highways 16, 22, 33 and 60 cross the county as well.
- Madison — 35 miles south
- Baraboo — 20 miles west
- Beaver Dam — 25 miles east
- Wisconsin Dells — 12 miles north of Portage
The nearest commercial airport is Dane County Regional Airport in Madison.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Columbia County, Wisconsin?
It is in south-central Wisconsin, about 35 miles north of Madison, centred on the historic Fox–Wisconsin river portage at Portage.
What is the population of Columbia County?
58,490 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Columbia County?
796 square miles (2,060 km2), of which 766 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Columbia County?
Portage is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Columbia County?
4 cities, 10 villages and 21 towns, plus a handful of small unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Columbia County?
Fourteen, from 53901 (Portage) to 53969 (Wyocena); see the ZIP Codes section above for the full list.
Is Wisconsin Dells in Columbia County?
Only part of it. The city of Wisconsin Dells is split among Columbia, Adams, Juneau and Sauk counties, and most of the famous downtown/water-park strip sits in Sauk County.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Wisconsin.