WI · 2026 Census Gazetteer

Wisconsin counties by area

Official, comparable measurements for 72 counties and county equivalents.

Source fields preservedGEOID · ALAND · AWATER

County equivalents72

Combined land54,168.3 mi²

Combined water11,328.4 mi²

Largest by landMarathon County

Understanding Wisconsin’s county areas

The land-area range runs from Pepin County at 232 mi² to Marathon County at 1,545.2 mi². The largest has 6.7 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 2.9% of the combined county land in Wisconsin.

The median county-equivalent land area is 753 mi², above the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.

Where water changes the picture

Door County has the most assigned water area, at 1,888.3 mi². Milwaukee County has the highest water share, with water making up 79.7% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.

Across all 72 entries, water accounts for 17.3% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.

Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in Wisconsin to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.

These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.

Complete area table

Sorted from largest to smallest land area.

#	County / equivalent	Land	Water	Water share
1	Marathon CountyGEOID 55073	1,545.2 mi²	31.1 mi²	2%
2	Bayfield CountyGEOID 55007	1,477.9 mi²	563.8 mi²	27.6%
3	Marinette CountyGEOID 55075	1,399.5 mi²	150.5 mi²	9.7%
4	Douglas CountyGEOID 55031	1,304.3 mi²	175.4 mi²	11.9%
5	Sawyer CountyGEOID 55113	1,257.6 mi²	92.6 mi²	6.9%
6	Price CountyGEOID 55099	1,254.1 mi²	24 mi²	1.9%
7	Clark CountyGEOID 55019	1,209.7 mi²	9 mi²	0.7%
8	Dane CountyGEOID 55025	1,196.5 mi²	41 mi²	3.3%
9	Grant CountyGEOID 55043	1,147.6 mi²	35.8 mi²	3%
10	Oneida CountyGEOID 55085	1,113.9 mi²	122.6 mi²	9.9%
11	Ashland CountyGEOID 55003	1,045 mi²	1,247.4 mi²	54.4%
12	Forest CountyGEOID 55041	1,014.3 mi²	32.2 mi²	3.1%
13	Chippewa CountyGEOID 55017	1,008.4 mi²	32.8 mi²	3.2%
14	Oconto CountyGEOID 55083	997.5 mi²	151.4 mi²	13.2%
15	Jackson CountyGEOID 55053	987.9 mi²	12.6 mi²	1.3%
16	Taylor CountyGEOID 55119	975.1 mi²	9.5 mi²	1%
17	Polk CountyGEOID 55095	914.3 mi²	42.1 mi²	4.4%
18	Rusk CountyGEOID 55107	913.5 mi²	17.3 mi²	1.9%
19	Monroe CountyGEOID 55081	900.9 mi²	7.2 mi²	0.8%
20	Shawano CountyGEOID 55115	893.2 mi²	16.2 mi²	1.8%
21	Lincoln CountyGEOID 55069	878.8 mi²	28 mi²	3.1%
22	Dodge CountyGEOID 55027	875.7 mi²	31.4 mi²	3.5%
23	Langlade CountyGEOID 55067	870.7 mi²	17.1 mi²	1.9%
24	Barron CountyGEOID 55005	863.1 mi²	26.7 mi²	3%
25	Vilas CountyGEOID 55125	857.7 mi²	160 mi²	15.7%
26	Dunn CountyGEOID 55033	850.2 mi²	13.7 mi²	1.6%
27	Sauk CountyGEOID 55111	831.6 mi²	17.6 mi²	2.1%
28	Burnett CountyGEOID 55013	821.6 mi²	58.6 mi²	6.7%
29	Portage CountyGEOID 55097	800.9 mi²	21.9 mi²	2.7%
30	Washburn CountyGEOID 55129	797.1 mi²	56.2 mi²	6.6%
31	Wood CountyGEOID 55141	793 mi²	16.2 mi²	2%
32	Vernon CountyGEOID 55123	791.6 mi²	24.8 mi²	3%
33	Juneau CountyGEOID 55057	767.1 mi²	38.1 mi²	4.7%
34	Columbia CountyGEOID 55021	765.6 mi²	30.4 mi²	3.8%
35	Iowa CountyGEOID 55049	762.7 mi²	5.4 mi²	0.7%
36	Iron CountyGEOID 55051	758.2 mi²	161 mi²	17.5%
37	Waupaca CountyGEOID 55135	747.7 mi²	17.5 mi²	2.3%
38	Trempealeau CountyGEOID 55121	733 mi²	9 mi²	1.2%
39	St. Croix CountyGEOID 55109	722.2 mi²	13 mi²	1.8%
40	Fond du Lac CountyGEOID 55039	719.6 mi²	46.3 mi²	6%
41	Rock CountyGEOID 55105	718.2 mi²	8 mi²	1.1%
42	Buffalo CountyGEOID 55011	675.8 mi²	33.8 mi²	4.8%
43	Adams CountyGEOID 55001	645.6 mi²	41.8 mi²	6.1%
44	Eau Claire CountyGEOID 55035	637.9 mi²	7.3 mi²	1.1%
45	Outagamie CountyGEOID 55087	637.6 mi²	7.1 mi²	1.1%
46	Lafayette CountyGEOID 55065	633.6 mi²	1 mi²	0.2%
47	Waushara CountyGEOID 55137	626.2 mi²	11.2 mi²	1.8%
48	Manitowoc CountyGEOID 55071	589.3 mi²	904.8 mi²	60.6%
49	Richland CountyGEOID 55103	586.2 mi²	3.1 mi²	0.5%
50	Green CountyGEOID 55045	584 mi²	0.5 mi²	0.1%
51	Pierce CountyGEOID 55093	574 mi²	18.7 mi²	3.2%
52	Crawford CountyGEOID 55023	570.8 mi²	28.4 mi²	4.7%
53	Jefferson CountyGEOID 55055	556.5 mi²	26.2 mi²	4.5%
54	Walworth CountyGEOID 55127	555.4 mi²	21.2 mi²	3.7%
55	Waukesha CountyGEOID 55133	549.7 mi²	30.8 mi²	5.3%
56	Brown CountyGEOID 55009	530.1 mi²	85.6 mi²	13.9%
57	Sheboygan CountyGEOID 55117	511.5 mi²	759.7 mi²	59.8%
58	Florence CountyGEOID 55037	488 mi²	9.3 mi²	1.9%
59	Door CountyGEOID 55029	481.9 mi²	1,888.3 mi²	79.7%
60	Marquette CountyGEOID 55077	455.7 mi²	8.8 mi²	1.9%
61	La Crosse CountyGEOID 55063	451.8 mi²	28.2 mi²	5.9%
62	Winnebago CountyGEOID 55139	434.7 mi²	143.9 mi²	24.9%
63	Washington CountyGEOID 55131	430.6 mi²	5 mi²	1.2%
64	Menominee CountyGEOID 55078	357.6 mi²	7.3 mi²	2%
65	Green Lake CountyGEOID 55047	349.5 mi²	30.6 mi²	8%
66	Kewaunee CountyGEOID 55061	342.5 mi²	741.8 mi²	68.4%
67	Racine CountyGEOID 55101	332.6 mi²	459.5 mi²	58%
68	Calumet CountyGEOID 55015	318.3 mi²	78.8 mi²	19.9%
69	Kenosha CountyGEOID 55059	271.8 mi²	482.2 mi²	63.9%
70	Milwaukee CountyGEOID 55079	241.5 mi²	948.1 mi²	79.7%
71	Ozaukee CountyGEOID 55089	233 mi²	883.2 mi²	79.1%
72	Pepin CountyGEOID 55091	232 mi²	16.7 mi²	6.7%

How to read this table. Land and water areas are Census statistical measurements in square miles. Adding county rows can differ slightly from separately published state totals because of rounding and geographic treatment.