Wood County, Wisconsin

Wood County is a county in Wisconsin, United States, about 20 miles west of Stevens Point. It
had a population of 74,207 at the 2020 census, an estimated 74,060 by 2025, and covers 809
square miles (2,095 km2) centred near 44°27′N 90°02′W.

Wisconsin Rapids is the county seat and its largest city; its postal code is 54494. The
county holds 4 cities, 8 villages and 3 census-designated places, organized around 22 civil
towns and roughly a dozen unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS
code is 55141.

Towns & Villages in Wood County

Wood County has 28 named places on record: 4 cities, 8 incorporated villages and 16 smaller
communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place;
Unincorp. covers hamlets and rural crossroads with no formal boundary.

Two places on this list straddle county lines. Marshfield’s population figure above is
its Wood County share only — 18,119 of the city’s 18,929 residents are on the Wood
County side, with the remaining 810 in Marathon County to the north. Milladore runs the same
way: the village of 268 people sits mostly in Wood County but reaches into neighbouring Portage
County.

ZIP Codes

• 54494 — Wisconsin Rapids (also covers Biron)
• 54449 — Marshfield
• 54457 — Nekoosa (also covers Ceex Haci)
• 54466 — Pittsville
• 54469 — Port Edwards
• 54441 — Hewitt
• 54412 — Auburndale
• 54489 — Vesper
• 54475 — Rudolph
• 54410 — Arpin
• 54454 — Milladore
• 54413 — Babcock

Lake Wazeecha and the county’s smaller unincorporated communities — Altdorf,
Bakerville, Bethel, Blenker, Cranmoor, Dexterville, Eight Corners, Kellner, Lindsey, Nasonville,
Sherry, Veedum and Walker — have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under
the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Wood County sits in central Wisconsin on the bed of the former Glacial Lake Wisconsin, which
drained roughly 13,000 years ago and left behind the flat, sandy, marsh-laced terrain that
still defines the county’s southern half. Of the county’s 809 square miles, 793 are
land and 16 are water, about 2.0 percent. The Wisconsin River runs the length of the county
north to south, passing through Wisconsin Rapids, Biron, Nekoosa and Port Edwards; Lake
Wazeecha, a reservoir on the river north of the city, is the county’s largest lake.
Wisconsin’s official geographic center is located in Wood County, nine miles southeast of
Marshfield.

Outside its cities and villages, Wood County is organized into 22 civil towns: Arpin,
Auburndale, Cameron, Cary, Cranmoor, Dexter, Grand Rapids, Hansen, Hiles, Lincoln, Marshfield,
Milladore, Port Edwards, Remington, Richfield, Rock, Rudolph, Saratoga, Seneca, Sherry, Sigel
and Wood — the Wisconsin equivalent of townships, each with its own elected town board.

Marathon County borders to the north, Portage County to the east, Adams County to the
southeast, Juneau County to the south, Jackson County to the southwest and Clark County to the
northwest. Marathon County, Portage County, Adams County, Juneau County, Jackson County and Clark County all border Wood
directly.

Demographics

Wood County had a population of 74,207 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 74,060 residents, essentially flat over the past five years. Wisconsin Rapids and
Marshfield are by far the two largest communities, together holding roughly half the
county’s population between them. Population density works out to 93.6 people per square
mile of land, a moderate figure for a county that mixes two mid-sized cities with wide stretches
of cranberry marsh and forest.

Economy & Local Life

Wood County splits into two distinct economic zones. The northern half, around Marshfield
and Auburndale, runs on corn, soybean, hay and dairy farming over heavy clay soil. The central
and southern half, around Wisconsin Rapids, Cranmoor and Babcock, is one of the major
cranberry-producing centers in the United States, its marshland long suited to the crop.
Papermaking has anchored the Wisconsin River towns for well over a century: ND Paper still runs
the Biron Mill, while the former Nekoosa and Port Edwards mills passed through Great Northern
Nekoosa, Georgia-Pacific and Domtar ownership before the Port Edwards mill closed in 2008.
Marshfield Clinic, headquartered in Marshfield, is one of the largest health care systems in
central and northern Wisconsin and among the county’s biggest employers. Rudolph draws a
seasonal following each December, when its post office postmarks thousands of holiday cards
with a special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer stamp.

History

The Wisconsin territorial and state legislature organized Wood County in 1856, naming it for
Joseph Wood, a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Settlement had already begun around
Wisconsin Rapids and Grand Rapids on the strength of the river’s lumber trade; sawmills
followed at Biron in 1839, Nekoosa in the 1870s and Port Edwards around 1829, and most of those
mills converted to papermaking by the turn of the 20th century as the county’s pine forests
thinned out. Arpin has a distinct thread in that history: an early-1900s Jewish agricultural
settlement, supported by the Industrial Removal Office, brought roughly 70 to 80 families from
Europe to farm near the village.

Getting There

US Route 10 crosses the county east–west through Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids.
Wisconsin Highways 13 and 54 bridge the Wisconsin River through downtown Wisconsin Rapids.

• Stevens Point — about 20 miles east
• Wausau — about 35 miles north
• Madison — about 100 miles south
• Eau Claire — about 75 miles west

South Wood County Airport (Alexander Field), just south of downtown Wisconsin Rapids, and
Marshfield Municipal Airport handle general aviation and regional flights. The nearest Amtrak
service is the Tomah station, about 40 miles southwest, served by the Empire Builder and
Borealis lines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Wood County located?
It sits in central Wisconsin on the Wisconsin River, about 20 miles west of Stevens Point,
bordered by Marathon, Portage, Adams, Juneau, Jackson and Clark counties.

What is the population of Wood County?
74,207 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 74,060.

How big is Wood County?
809 square miles (2,095 km2), of which 793 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Wood County?
Wisconsin Rapids is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Wood County?
Four cities — Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield (shared with Marathon County), Nekoosa and
Pittsville — plus eight villages, three census-designated places and a further dozen
unincorporated communities spread across 22 civil towns.

What ZIP codes does Wood County use?
54494 for Wisconsin Rapids and Biron, 54449 for Marshfield, 54457 for Nekoosa and Ceex Haci,
54466 for Pittsville, plus separate codes for each of the county’s villages.

What is Wood County known for?
Cranberry production, papermaking on the Wisconsin River, and Marshfield Clinic, one of
central Wisconsin’s largest health care systems.

Is the geographic center of Wisconsin in Wood County?
Yes. It lies nine miles southeast of Marshfield, inside Wood County.

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