County Maps US

Washburn County, Wisconsin

A county in Wisconsin, ranked 59 of 72 by population.

CountyFIPS 55129

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

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Population
17,087
+469 (+2.8%) since 2020
Land area
797.1
square miles. A further 6.6% of the total area is water
Population density
21.4
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Shell Lake
Seat of county government.
Established
1883
142 years ago
Largest city
Spooner city
Population 2,531.

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 Washburn 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 Washburn 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 573 by 800 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 Washburn 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
Population17,08759th of 721,973rd of 3,144
Land area797.1 sq mi30th of 721,075th of 3,144
Population density21.4 per sq mi59th of 722,194th of 3,144
Median household income$63,44161st of 721,757th of 3,143

Full data for Washburn County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population17,087Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202016,618Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?16,624Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area797.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area56.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area853.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?21.4 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$63,441American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$226,100American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age52.7American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households7,566American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units12,853American 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
-93
132 births, 225 deaths
Net migration
+157
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 Washburn 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
Burnett CountyWisconsin37 mi17,223
Sawyer CountyWisconsin36 mi18,846
Douglas CountyWisconsin24 mi43,990
Barron CountyWisconsin24 mi46,484
Bayfield CountyWisconsina single point16,787
Rusk CountyWisconsina single point14,146

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.