Richland County is a county in Wisconsin, United States, along the Wisconsin River in the southwestern part of the state. It had a population of 17,304 at the 2020 census and covers 589 square miles (1,530 km2) centred near 43°23′N 90°26′W.
Richland Center is the county seat, and its postal code is 53581. The county has one city, five villages, two census-designated places, and 16 towns, plus a scatter of unincorporated crossroads communities. Richland County is in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Richland County
Richland Center is the county’s only incorporated city and its trade hub; five villages — Boaz, Cazenovia, Lone Rock, Viola and Yuba — sit along the river valleys and rail lines. Gotham and Sextonville are unincorporated census-designated places with their own population counts. The rest of the entries below are unincorporated communities, several sharing a name with the surrounding civil town.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland Center | City · seat | 5,114 | 53581 |
| Boaz | Village | — | — |
| Cazenovia | Village | — | 53924 |
| Lone Rock | Village | — | 53556 |
| Viola | Village | — | 54664 |
| Yuba | Village | — | 54634 |
| Gotham | CDP | — | — |
| Sextonville | CDP | — | — |
| Aubrey | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Balmoral | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Basswood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bear Valley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bloom City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bosstown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Buck Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bunker Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Byrds Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Excelsior | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Five Points | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Germantown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gillingham | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hub City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ithaca | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Jimtown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Keyesville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Loyd | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Neptune | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Orion | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Port Andrew | Unincorp. | — | 53556 |
| Rockbridge | Unincorp. | — | 53581 |
| Sabin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sand Prairie | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sylvan | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tavera | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tunnelville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Twin Bluffs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| West Lima | Unincorp. | — | 54622 |
| Westport | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wild Rose | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Woodstock | Unincorp. | — | — |
Ithaca, Orion, Rockbridge and Sylvan double as the names of surrounding civil towns (see below); the entries above refer to the small crossroads settlements, not the townships. Cazenovia extends slightly into neighboring Sauk County and Viola into Vernon County, but each village’s post office and government seat sit on the Richland County side.
Townships
Wisconsin’s county-level land outside cities and villages is organized into civil towns, which provide local government and, in Richland County’s case, often lend their name to a crossroads hamlet at their center.
| Town | Main settlement |
|---|---|
| Akan | — |
| Bloom | Bloom City |
| Buena Vista | Bear Valley |
| Dayton | Cazenovia |
| Eagle | — |
| Forest | Boaz |
| Henrietta | Excelsior |
| Ithaca | Lone Rock, Ithaca |
| Marshall | Yuba |
| Orion | Orion, Port Andrew |
| Richland | Sextonville |
| Richwood | Viola (part) |
| Rockbridge | Rockbridge, Twin Bluffs |
| Sylvan | Sylvan, Gillingham |
| Westford | Basswood |
| Willow | Neptune |
ZIP Codes
- 53581 — Richland Center (also serves Rockbridge)
- 53556 — Lone Rock (also serves Port Andrew)
- 53924 — Cazenovia
- 54634 — Yuba
- 54622 — West Lima
- 54664 — Viola
The unincorporated communities not listed above share a ZIP code with the nearest post-office town and are not independently verified here.
Geography
Richland County sits in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, a hilly, unglaciated region of steep ridges and narrow valleys carved by the Wisconsin River and its tributaries. The Wisconsin River forms much of the county’s northern boundary, and Pine River and Kickapoo River drainages cut through the western and southern townships. The county is 589 square miles in total, of which 586 square miles are land and 3.1 square miles are water.
Richland County borders Vernon County to the north, Sauk County to the east, Iowa County to the southeast, Grant County to the southwest, and Crawford County to the west.
Demographics
Richland County had 17,304 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 29.2 people per square mile. Richland Center, with 5,114 residents, is by far the county’s largest community; Lone Rock and Viola are the next-largest incorporated places. Median household income in the county trails the Wisconsin median of $74,631, reflecting an economy still centered on dairy and row-crop farming rather than higher-wage manufacturing. The population is predominantly white, with small Hispanic and Amish communities in the county’s rural townships.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture anchors Richland County’s economy — dairy, corn and soybeans dominate the Driftless Area’s valley floors, while the ridgetops support cattle grazing and some of the county’s Amish farms. Richland Center functions as the county’s retail and medical center, home to the Richland Hospital and the Richland School District. The city’s best-known landmark is the A. D. German Warehouse, designed by native son Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1921, which draws architecture visitors year-round. The University of Wisconsin–Platteville’s Richland campus operated in the city as a freshman-sophomore branch until it closed in May 2023.
History
Richland County was set off from the Wisconsin Territory in 1842 and formally organized as a county in 1850. Its name refers to the quality of its farmland rather than any person or place. Richland Center, founded in 1851, became the county seat and later the birthplace, in 1867, of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The county was also a center of Wisconsin’s women’s suffrage movement; the Richland Center Woman’s Club, founded in 1882, grew into the largest suffrage organization in the state.
Getting There
US Highway 14 crosses the county through Lone Rock and Richland Center, and Wisconsin Highways 80 and 60 run north–south and along the Wisconsin River respectively. The county-owned Richland Airport (93C) in Richland Center handles general aviation; the nearest commercial airport is Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, roughly 60 miles to the east.
- Madison — about 60 miles east
- La Crosse — about 55 miles northwest
- Prairie du Chien — about 35 miles southwest
- Baraboo — about 35 miles east
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Richland County, Wisconsin?
It is in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, in the southwestern part of the state, along the Wisconsin River about 60 miles west of Madison.
What is the population of Richland County?
17,304 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Richland County?
589 square miles (1,530 km2), of which 586 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Richland County?
Richland Center is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Richland County?
One city, five villages, two census-designated places, 16 towns, and numerous unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Richland County?
Confirmed ZIPs include 53581 (Richland Center), 53556 (Lone Rock), 53924 (Cazenovia), 54634 (Yuba), 54622 (West Lima) and 54664 (Viola).
What is Richland Center famous for?
It is the birthplace of architect Frank Lloyd Wright and home to his A. D. German Warehouse, completed in 1921.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Wisconsin.