Living in DeForest, WI
DeForest is a big small town of 11,501 people in Dane County, Wisconsin. It's about 11 miles from Madison, WI and 70 miles from Milwaukee, WI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 27°F, with about 46 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $360k and rent runs about $1k a month.
11,501people
$360kTypical home
$1,442/moRent
82° / 27°Summer / winter
46"Snow
224Sunny days
114Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 11,501
- Part of a metro area
- About 1,221 people per sq mi
- 70 mi to Milwaukee, WI
- 11 mi to Madison, WI
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $360k (≈$2,268/mo)
- Median rent $1,442/mo
- Median household income $106k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 27°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 224 sunny days a year (73 totally clear)
- 141 cloudy days a year
- 46 of 90 winter days are gray
- 114 days a year with rain or snow
- 46" of snow a year
- 16 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 42 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (55 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (805 per 100k)
People
- Median age 41
- 36% of households have kids
- 16% are 65 or older
- 42% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 5% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 27 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 6 mi to MSN airport
- 76 mi to MKE (major hub)
- 23 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 77% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1993
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 896 ft
- 666 mi to the ocean
- 53 mi to a big lake
- Trailhead in town
- 15 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 39 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 524 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 170 bars within 25 mi
- 137 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 7 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 29 museums within 25 mi
- 18 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 6 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 33% of Wisconsin districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 11 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 11 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 4 mi to the nearest vet
- 4 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 11 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Dane County: D+52 in 2024
- Wisconsin: Purple — split almost evenly
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk