County Maps US

Rusk County, Wisconsin

A county in Wisconsin, ranked 65 of 72 by population.

CountyFIPS 55107

Within Wisconsin
Rusk County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Ladysmith, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
14,146
-23 (-0.2%) since 2020
Land area
913.5
square miles. A further 1.9% of the total area is water
Population density
15.5
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Ladysmith
Seat of county government.
Established
1901
124 years ago
Largest city
Ladysmith city
Population 3,172.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Rusk County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Rusk County, Wisconsin from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 496 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Rusk County ranks

Position among the 72 counties of Wisconsin, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn WisconsinNationally
Population14,14665th of 722,152nd of 3,144
Land area913.5 sq mi18th of 72812th of 3,144
Population density15.5 per sq mi64th of 722,378th of 3,144
Median household income$59,94470th of 722,089th of 3,143

Full data for Rusk County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population14,146Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202014,169Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?14,181Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area913.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area17.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area930.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?15.5 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$59,944American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$163,400American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age49.2American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households6,355American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units8,663American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-74
114 births, 188 deaths
Net migration
+95
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Rusk County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Sawyer CountyWisconsin42 mi18,846
Chippewa CountyWisconsin30 mi67,614
Barron CountyWisconsin24 mi46,484
Taylor CountyWisconsin18 mi20,118
Price CountyWisconsin18 mi13,988
Washburn CountyWisconsina single point17,087

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 72 counties of Wisconsin

Open the interactive Wisconsin county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.