Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

Manitowoc County is a county in Wisconsin, United States, on the shore of Lake Michigan about
34 miles south of Green Bay. It had a population of 81,359 at the 2020 census, an estimated
81,710 by 2025, and covers 589 square miles of land (1,530 km2) centred near 44°09′N 87°33′W.

Manitowoc is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 54220. The
county holds 3 cities, 9 incorporated villages and 2 census-designated places across 18 towns,
and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 55071.

Towns & Villages in Manitowoc County

Manitowoc County has 14 named places on record: 3 cities, 9 incorporated villages and 2
census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census
designated place; Unincorp. covers rural crossroads and hamlets outside any incorporated
boundary.

Kiel is the one confusable entry on this list. It sits across three counties, and its
citywide population of 3,932 includes residents of Calumet and Sheboygan counties; the 3,585
figure above counts only the Manitowoc County portion, which holds most of the city’s land
and people.

Beyond these 14 places, the county’s 18 towns contain roughly three dozen smaller
unincorporated communities with no population figures of their own — hamlets, former mill
sites and rural crossroads. The largest and best-documented are grouped by town in the Townships
section below.

Townships

Wisconsin’s 18 towns are civil townships, each with its own elected board. Manitowoc
County’s towns range from just under 400 to just over 2,100 residents.

ZIP Codes

• 54220 — Manitowoc (the county’s most populous ZIP)
• 54221 — Manitowoc (PO box ZIP)
• 54241 — Two Rivers
• 53042 — Kiel
• 54230 — Reedsville
• 54228 — Mishicot
• 53015 — Cleveland
• 54247 — Whitelaw
• 54245 — Valders
• 54227 — Maribel
• 53063 — Newton
• 54232 — St. Nazianz (PO box ZIP)
• 54214 — Francis Creek (PO box ZIP)
• 54215 — Kellnersville (PO box ZIP)
• 54207 — Collins (PO box ZIP)
• 54240 — Tisch Mills (PO box ZIP)

Clarks Mills and most of the county’s unincorporated hamlets have no ZIP of their own;
mail there is delivered under the nearest post office town’s code.

Geography

Manitowoc County occupies Wisconsin’s eastern shore, where the land is flat to gently
rolling and drops to a nearly continuous Lake Michigan bluff. Of its 1,494 square miles, 589 are
land and 905 are water — the water share, 61 percent, is the highest of any Wisconsin
county, since the county’s Lake Michigan waters extend far offshore. On land, the
Manitowoc River and the East and West Twin Rivers are the principal waterways, both draining
east into the lake.

Kewaunee County lies to the north, Brown County to the northwest, Calumet County to the west,
and Sheboygan County to the south. Kewaunee
County, Brown County, Calumet County and Sheboygan County all border Manitowoc
directly; Lake Michigan forms the entire eastern edge, with Michigan’s Mason and Manistee
counties on the far shore.

Demographics

Manitowoc County had a population of 81,359 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 81,710 residents. Manitowoc and Two Rivers are by far the two largest
communities, together holding well over half the county’s population. Median household
income runs $69,148, below Wisconsin’s statewide figure of $74,631 (2023 ACS). Population
density works out to about 138 people per square mile of land, concentrated heavily along the
lakeshore cities and thinning out fast in the inland towns.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing and tourism anchor the county’s economy. Manitowoc built its name as a
Great Lakes shipbuilding center; during the Second World War, its shipyards constructed 28
submarines for the U.S. Navy, a history now preserved at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, home to
the WWII submarine USS Cobia. In December 2022 the city was designated one of Wisconsin’s
World War II Heritage Cities. Kiel, in the county’s southwest corner, grew up around brick,
furniture and wooden-shoe factories in the late 1800s and was once known as the Wooden Shoes
Capital of Wisconsin. Two Rivers claims to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, a
disputed distinction dating to an 1881 order at Berners’ Soda Fountain, and still trades on
that history with its Historic Washington House museum downtown. The Manitowoc County Fair,
held each August at the county Expo Grounds in Manitowoc, is among the county’s largest
annual gatherings.

History

Manitowoc County was created in 1836, before Wisconsin achieved statehood, and was formally
organized in 1848, the year statehood arrived. The name comes from an Ojibwe or Menominee word
usually translated as spirit-wood or place of the spirits, applied first to the Manitowoc River
and then to the settlement at its mouth. Manitowoc was incorporated as a city in the 1870s and
has served as county seat since the county’s organization.

The village of Cleveland was formed in 1958 by combining the older unincorporated communities
of Centerville, Hika and St. Wendel. St. Nazianz began in 1854 as a religious colony founded by
Father Ambrose Oschwald, who led roughly 113 German immigrants from the Black Forest region of
Baden to settle there in search of religious freedom, a founding story still marked in the
village today.

Getting There

Interstate 43 crosses the county north to south, linking Manitowoc and Two Rivers with Green
Bay and Milwaukee. US Routes 10 and 151 and State Highways 32, 42, 57, 67, 147 and 310 cover the
rest of the county.

• Green Bay — about 34 miles north
• Milwaukee — about 74 miles south
• Sheboygan — about 30 miles south
• Appleton — about 40 miles west

Manitowoc County Airport, west of the city of Manitowoc, handles general aviation. The
nearest major commercial airport is Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay. The
Lake Michigan Carferry’s SS Badger, a coal-fired car ferry, sails from Manitowoc to
Ludington, Michigan, in season — the last such ferry still operating on the Great Lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Manitowoc County located?
It sits on Lake Michigan in eastern Wisconsin, about 34 miles south of Green Bay, bordered by
Kewaunee, Brown, Calumet and Sheboygan counties.

What is the population of Manitowoc County?
81,359 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 81,710 by 2025.

How big is Manitowoc County?
1,494 square miles in total, of which 589 square miles are land; the rest is Lake Michigan
water.

What is the county seat of Manitowoc County?
Manitowoc, the county’s largest city, is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Manitowoc County?
Three cities — Manitowoc, Two Rivers and Kiel — nine incorporated villages, two
census-designated places, and 18 civil towns.

What ZIP codes does Manitowoc County use?
54220 and 54221 for Manitowoc, 54241 for Two Rivers, 53042 for Kiel, plus separate codes for
Reedsville, Mishicot, Cleveland, Whitelaw, Valders, Maribel, Newton and several PO-box-only
villages.

What is Manitowoc County known for?
Great Lakes shipbuilding — its shipyards built 28 U.S. Navy submarines in World War II,
now honored at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum — and the SS Badger car ferry to Michigan.

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