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Shell Lake is a small town of 1,459 people in Washburn County, Wisconsin. It's about 66 miles from Eau Claire, WI and 84 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 80°F and winter highs 21°F, with about 57 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $229k and rent runs about $623 a month.
1,459people
$229kTypical home
$623/moRent
80° / 21°Summer / winter
57"Snow
215Sunny days
112Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,459
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 250 people per sq mi
- 84 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 66 mi to Eau Claire, WI
- 52 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $229k (≈$1,447/mo)
- Median rent $623/mo
- Median household income $58k
- Property tax about 1.5% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 80°F
- Winter highs around 21°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 59°F)
- 215 sunny days a year (64 totally clear)
- 150 cloudy days a year
- 46 of 90 winter days are gray
- 112 days a year with rain or snow
- 57" of snow a year
- 19 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 61 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (101 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (445 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 50
- 22% of households have kids
- 30% are 65 or older
- 30% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 63 mi to EAU airport
- 87 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 79 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 85% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1976
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,207 ft
- 619 mi to the ocean
- 67 mi to a big lake
- 8 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 30 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 10 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 66 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 66 bars within 25 mi
- 8 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 7 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 20 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 49% of Wisconsin districts (reading)
- 6 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 5 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 64 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 8 mi to the nearest dog park
- 10 congregations per 10k people
- 19 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Washburn County: R+28 in 2024
- Wisconsin: Purple — split almost evenly
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.