Sawyer County, Wisconsin Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Sawyer County, WI Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • B
    Health Around average
    Among the 5 least healthy counties in Wisconsin
  • C
    Income Below average
    Less wealthy than 77% of counties in Wisconsin
  • D
    Education Well below average

Source: Map AI Methodology

Sawyer County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Sawyer County Wisconsin Avg U.S. Average
Population 18,476 5,910,864 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 13.7 90.2 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 1.50% 0.34% 0.59%
Median age 53.8 40.4 37.3
Households 8,810 2,477,189 130,235,071

Population in Sawyer County grew by 9.3% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 18,476 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Sawyer County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Sawyer County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 28.0% of residents. That is 10.2 points above Wisconsin as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Wisconsin, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 48.9% of the people living in Sawyer County and men 51.1%.

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18,476

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Economy

Sawyer County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.

Metric Sawyer County Wisconsin Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $60,880 $77,698 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 4.83% 4.41% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 6.0% 3.2% 5.2%

The median household income in Sawyer County is about 22% lower than in Wisconsin.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Sawyer County Wisconsin Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $133,333 $170,479 $248,835
Median rent $711 $1,087 $1,407
Homeownership rate 76.7% 67.8% 65.2%

The median home price in Sawyer County is about 15.6 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $711 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Sawyer County spend about 33 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 138 hours, about 5.8 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Sawyer County Wisconsin Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 16.6 18.8 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 33.2 37.5 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 138 156 187
Estimated yearly cost $4,293 $4,846 $5,790
Work from home 12.7% 13.1% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) — 6,703 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 278 811 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in Wisconsin: Ashland County (12.8 min), Door County (13.6 min), Eau Claire County (15.3 min).
Slowest: Oconto County (26.4 min), St. Croix County (25.3 min), Waushara County (23.9 min).

The average commute time in Sawyer County is 17 minutes, shorter than the 19 minutes in Wisconsin.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Sawyer County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Sawyer County Wisconsin Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 25.3% 29.7% 31.6%
Average household size 2.04 2.33 2.53

Highest education index among counties in Wisconsin: Dane County (0.4), Ozaukee County (0.4), Waukesha County (0.4).
Lowest: Clark County (0.2), Adams County (0.2), Juneau County (0.2).

Health

Sawyer County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Sawyer County Wisconsin Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 77.5 79.6 78.3
Self-rated poor health 16.0% 13.2% 16.3%
Smokers 20.9% 18.5% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in Wisconsin: Dane County (0.8), Waukesha County (0.8), Ozaukee County (0.8).
Lowest: Menominee County (0.8), Clark County (0.8), Forest County (0.8).

Full health data →

Sawyer County, WI Compared With Nearby Counties

How Sawyer County, WI compares with the 1 counties closest to it.

Area Population Median household income Median home price Commute
Sawyer County, WI 18,476 $60,880 #2/2 $133,333 #1/2 16.6 min #1/2
Chippewa County, WI 66,799 $74,640 $19,556 20.2 min

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Sawyer County, Wisconsin.

What is the population of Sawyer County, Wisconsin?

About 18,476 people live in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, in 8,810 households of 2.0 people on average. The median age is 53.8, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 17 years.

Is Sawyer County, Wisconsin mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Sawyer County, Wisconsin has 14 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 16% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Sawyer County, Wisconsin an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 2.2 times the median household income ($133,333 against $60,880), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $711 a month takes about 14% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

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