Description: Detailed large map of Wisconsin State, USA showing cities, towns, county formations, roads highway, US highways and State routes.
Map of Wisconsin (USA). Wisconsin map with cities, counties, and towns. Use this detailed map to understand Wisconsin's full county grid, every administrative capital (county seat), the major cities and towns, bordering states and waters, and a few highway cues for orientation only. It is the best map style for residents, travelers, and geography students who want clarity without road clutter. Wisconsin sits in the Upper Midwest, tucked between Minnesota on the west, Iowa at the southwest corner, Illinois along the south, and Michigan to the northeast, both by land and across Green Bay and Lake Michigan, while Lake Superior stretches along the entire north edge. All 72 counties are shaded in their own colored block here, each with its county seat set in bold, and the pattern runs naturally from the Northwoods and the Lake Superior shoreline in the north, down through the Driftless Area hills in the southwest, and over to the Milwaukee metro and Fox Cities along Lake Michigan in the east. A light road layer traces the interstate spine, I-94, I-90, I-39, and I-43, alongside the Mississippi, Wisconsin, Fox, and St. Croix rivers, giving you just enough to place any county at a glance.
Borders and waters at a glance: Follow the top of the map and Lake Superior runs the whole way across, touching Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, and Iron counties before the state line turns south to meet Michigan, first by land through Marinette, Florence, Forest, Vilas, and Iron counties, then by water across Green Bay and Lake Michigan past Marinette and around the Door Peninsula. Trace the west side and you will find Minnesota across the St. Croix River and the upper Mississippi River, running past Douglas, Burnett, Polk, St. Croix, Pierce, Pepin, Buffalo, Trempealeau, La Crosse, Vernon, and Crawford counties. Down at the southwest corner, Iowa sits across the lower Mississippi from Crawford and Grant counties, and along the entire south edge Illinois borders Grant, Lafayette, Green, Rock, Walworth, and Kenosha counties. Every one of the 72 counties is on the map, and once you know the Mississippi, Wisconsin, Fox, and St. Croix rivers as interior guide lines, with Lake Michigan holding down the whole east side, the four light interstate corridors (I-94, I-90, I-39, I-43) are enough to walk you straight to the state's four biggest anchors: Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Madison in Dane County, Green Bay in Brown County, and Kenosha in Kenosha County.
Road-light orientation: This map leans on just four interstates to do most of the orientation work, and that is on purpose. I-94 forms the backbone from Hudson through Eau Claire, Madison, and Milwaukee down to the Illinois line. I-90 crosses from La Crosse to Tomah and continues on toward Rock County. I-39 connects Wausau down through Stevens Point, Portage, and into Madison. I-43 traces the lakeshore, linking Green Bay to Milwaukee. Once those four routes click into place, you can find nearly any city on this page without reaching for a full road atlas.
Begin up at the top edge of the state, in the far Northern reaches, and move west to east along the big lake. Douglas County, seat Superior, takes up the northwest corner directly across from Duluth, Minnesota, and the map marks the harbor here with the twin ports and Wisconsin Point. Bayfield County, seat Washburn, follows Chequamegon Bay out to the Apostle Islands, with the town of Bayfield anchoring the shoreline itself. Ashland County, seat Ashland, sits on that same bay and extends east toward the Bad River. Iron County, seat Hurley, meets Lake Superior at Saxon Harbor and runs south down to the Montreal River, which forms the Michigan line.
Drop into the Northwoods and Vilas County, seat Eagle River, is classic chain-of-lakes territory built around Eagle River and Boulder Junction. Oneida County, seat Rhinelander, sits on the Pelican River, and the map shows US-51 threading through Minocqua and Hazelhurst on its way south. Forest County, seat Crandon, and Florence County, seat Florence, hold the headwaters of the Menominee River right along the Michigan line.
Head south out of the Northwoods and you land in this cluster of north-central headwaters counties. Price County, seat Phillips, is home to Timms Hill, the highest point in the state, plus a stretch of the Flambeau River. Sawyer County, seat Hayward, is scattered with flowages and the Namekagon River, a name canoeists know well. Washburn County, seat Shell Lake, fills the gap between Sawyer and Barron, and its round namesake lake makes an easy landmark on the map. Burnett County, seat Siren, reaches the St. Croix River right at the Minnesota line.
Rusk County, seat Ladysmith, straddles the Flambeau River. Taylor County, seat Medford, mixes forest tracts with dairy clearings along the Jump River. Langlade County, seat Antigo, is potato-growing country just south of Forest County. Lincoln County, seat Merrill, reaches the Wisconsin River right above Wausau, setting up the next stretch of counties heading south.
Out in the Northwest, Barron County, seat Barron, circles around Rice Lake. Polk County, seat Balsam Lake, meets the Minnesota line along the St. Croix near St. Croix Falls. St. Croix County, seat Hudson, and Pierce County, seat Ellsworth, frame the river crossings where I-94 enters the state. Dunn County, seat Menomonie, sits on the Red Cedar River. Chippewa County, seat Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire County, seat Eau Claire, share the Chippewa River right where the Eau Claire River flows into it, and both UW-Eau Claire and I-94 are centered on this same spot on the map.
These western counties open up the Driftless Area, the part of Wisconsin the glaciers skipped over, so the terrain stays hilly instead of flat. Pepin County, seat Durand, is the smallest county in the state by area and fronts the wide Lake Pepin stretch of the Mississippi. From there, Buffalo County, seat Alma, Trempealeau County, seat Whitehall, Jackson County, seat Black River Falls, La Crosse County, seat La Crosse, Monroe County, seat Sparta, and Vernon County, seat Viroqua, run south along the river and its bluffs one after another, with Onalaska and Tomah easy to spot on the map and I-90/I-94 splitting apart near Tomah.
Down in the Southwest, still among the unglaciated Driftless hills, Crawford County, seat Prairie du Chien, sits right where the Wisconsin River empties into the Mississippi, close to the spot where Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa all come together. Richland County, seat Richland Center, rises into rolling, unglaciated hill country. Grant County, seat Lancaster, occupies the far southwest corner across the river from Iowa, and old lead-mining towns like Platteville are nearby on the map.
Moving into Central Wisconsin, Clark County, seat Neillsville, spreads out as dairy flatland running toward the Black River. Wood County, seat Wisconsin Rapids, fans out around paper-mill riverscapes, with Marshfield labeled on the west side. Portage County, seat Stevens Point, puts the Wisconsin River right through the middle of a university town. Marathon County, seat Wausau, is the largest county in the state by area, and the map centers it on the river bend around Rib Mountain, with I-39/US-51 running through as a thin north-south spine.
These two counties sit right in the heart of the Central Sand Plain. Adams County, seat Friendship, covers sandy country near the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, with Big Roche a Cri standing out as a local landmark on the map. Juneau County, seat Mauston, holds Fort McCoy and the Castle Rock and Petenwell flowages on the Wisconsin River, right where I-90 and I-94 run together on the approach to the Dells.
Waushara County, seat Wautoma, and Marquette County, seat Montello, both front spring-fed waters that show up as clusters of small lakes on the map. Green Lake County, seat Green Lake, takes its name from the state's deepest natural lake. Waupaca County, seat Waupaca, is Chain O' Lakes country, feeding into the Wolf River.
Bridging the north-central forest and the Northeast lowlands, Shawano County, seat Shawano, stretches along both Shawano Lake and the Wolf River. Menominee County, seat Keshena, is small on the map but distinct, matching the boundary of the Menominee Indian Reservation and its forest lands exactly.
Here in the Northeast, the Fox Valley is one of the easiest regions to read on the map because the river itself draws a ribbon from Lake Winnebago up to Green Bay. Outagamie County, seat Appleton, carries Appleton, Kaukauna, and the string of Fox locks towns. Winnebago County, seat Oshkosh, wraps around the western shore of Lake Winnebago, and Oshkosh and Neenah are both easy to find. Calumet County, seat Chilton, holds the lake's east shore, linking it down to the Kettle Moraine hills farther south.
Further up the Northeast shoreline, Brown County, seat Green Bay, puts the city right where the Fox River empties out, and the map keeps US-41 and I-43 faint enough that the county's shape stays the main focus. Oconto County, seat Oconto, and Marinette County, seat Marinette, climb the bay shoreline up to the Menominee River, which forms the Michigan boundary. Kewaunee County, seat Kewaunee, faces the open water of Lake Michigan just south of Door County.
Out at the far Northeast tip, Door County, seat Sturgeon Bay, juts into Lake Michigan as its own narrow peninsula. The Sturgeon Bay ship canal cuts a visible line through the landform on the map, and cherry-orchard towns like Sister Bay and Egg Harbor line both shores of the peninsula.
South-central Wisconsin revolves around the capital. Dane County, seat Madison, centers on the Yahara lake chain, and Madison itself sits like a narrow bar of land between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona on the map, with I-39/90/94 drawn in only as quiet arcs for orientation. Columbia County, seat Portage, carries the historic portage connecting the Wisconsin and Fox River watersheds. Sauk County, seat Baraboo, marks the Baraboo Range and the Wisconsin Dells.
Further south, still on the Driftless side of the state, Iowa County, seat Dodgeville, climbs into old lead-mining hills near Mineral Point, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin estate sits nearby at Spring Green. Lafayette County, seat Darlington, runs along the Illinois line. Green County, seat Monroe, and Rock County, seat Janesville, slope down toward the Sugar and Rock rivers, with Beloit labeled right at the Illinois border on the map.
Dodge County, seat Juneau, is marked by Beaver Dam Lake and wide stretches of marshland. Jefferson County, seat Jefferson, highlights Fort Atkinson and the bend of the Rock River as it curves toward Lake Koshkonong.
Over in the Southeast, Milwaukee County, seat Milwaukee, anchors the state's biggest metro area right on the lakefront, and the map keeps just enough freeway detail visible to orient without crowding the page. Waukesha County, seat Waukesha, shows off the Kettle Moraine's knob-and-kettle terrain, with lake labels like Pewaukee Lake dotting the map. Washington County, seat West Bend, and Ozaukee County, seat Port Washington, bridge the inland kettle country over to the lake bluffs.
Racine County, seat Racine, and Kenosha County, seat Kenosha, carry the map down to the Illinois line, squarely within the Chicago commuter shed. Sheboygan County, seat Sheboygan, and Manitowoc County, seat Manitowoc, sit further north along the open lake, each with a working harbor that once built ships.
Rounding out the Southeast and east-central edge, Walworth County, seat Elkhorn, holds Geneva Lake and Delavan Lake within classic Kettle Moraine terrain. Fond du Lac County, seat Fond du Lac, sits at the foot of Lake Winnebago, right where I-41 meets US-151 on the map.
Four rivers and two Great Lakes carry most of the orientation load on this page, and once you know them, the whole state falls into place. The Mississippi River traces the entire western and southwestern edge, running from St. Croix County down through La Crosse and Grant counties. The Wisconsin River angles diagonally across the state, passing from Lincoln County through Wausau, Stevens Point, Portage, and the Dells before it joins the Mississippi near Prairie du Chien. The Fox River connects Lake Winnebago to Green Bay through Outagamie and Brown counties. The St. Croix River marks the northwest border with Minnesota. Lake Superior holds down the far north along Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, and Iron counties, and Lake Michigan anchors the whole east side, from Door County down to Kenosha County. Remember those six features and any county on this map becomes easy to locate.
Road-light orientation: Keeping the road layer minimal is a deliberate choice on this map. I-94 runs from Hudson through Eau Claire, Tomah, Madison, and Milwaukee down to the Illinois line. I-90 connects La Crosse to Tomah, then continues to Rock County and on into Rockford, Illinois. I-39 links Wausau to Stevens Point, Portage, and Madison, then continues down to Janesville. I-43 stretches from Green Bay through Sheboygan and Milwaukee to Beloit. I-41 follows alongside US-41 from the Illinois line through Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, and Appleton up to Green Bay. I-535 is a short connector linking I-35 in Duluth, Minnesota to US-53 in Superior. US-2 traces the Lake Superior shore from Superior to Ashland to Hurley. US-51 passes through Minocqua, Rhinelander, Wausau, and Portage. US-53 runs from La Crosse to Eau Claire to Spooner and up to Superior. None of these lines are meant to replace turn-by-turn directions; they exist purely to help place a county quickly.
Every one of Wisconsin's 72 counties and its seat, in alphabetical order: Adams County (Friendship), Ashland County (Ashland), Barron County (Barron), Bayfield County (Washburn), Brown County (Green Bay), Buffalo County (Alma), Burnett County (Siren), Calumet County (Chilton), Chippewa County (Chippewa Falls), Clark County (Neillsville), Columbia County (Portage), Crawford County (Prairie du Chien), Dane County (Madison), Dodge County (Juneau), Door County (Sturgeon Bay), Douglas County (Superior), Dunn County (Menomonie), Eau Claire County (Eau Claire), Florence County (Florence), Fond du Lac County (Fond du Lac), Forest County (Crandon), Grant County (Lancaster), Green County (Monroe), Green Lake County (Green Lake), Iowa County (Dodgeville), Iron County (Hurley), Jackson County (Black River Falls), Jefferson County (Jefferson), Juneau County (Mauston), Kenosha County (Kenosha), Kewaunee County (Kewaunee), La Crosse County (La Crosse), Lafayette County (Darlington), Langlade County (Antigo), Lincoln County (Merrill), Manitowoc County (Manitowoc), Marathon County (Wausau), Marinette County (Marinette), Marquette County (Montello), Menominee County (Keshena), Milwaukee County (Milwaukee), Monroe County (Sparta), Oconto County (Oconto), Oneida County (Rhinelander), Outagamie County (Appleton), Ozaukee County (Port Washington), Pepin County (Durand), Pierce County (Ellsworth), Polk County (Balsam Lake), Portage County (Stevens Point), Price County (Phillips), Racine County (Racine), Richland County (Richland Center), Rock County (Janesville), Rusk County (Ladysmith), St. Croix County (Hudson), Sauk County (Baraboo), Sawyer County (Hayward), Shawano County (Shawano), Sheboygan County (Sheboygan), Taylor County (Medford), Trempealeau County (Whitehall), Vernon County (Viroqua), Vilas County (Eagle River), Walworth County (Elkhorn), Washburn County (Shell Lake), Washington County (West Bend), Waukesha County (Waukesha), Waupaca County (Waupaca), Waushara County (Wautoma), Winnebago County (Oshkosh), and Wood County (Wisconsin Rapids).
Wisconsin borders Minnesota across the St. Croix and upper Mississippi rivers to the west, Iowa across the lower Mississippi to the southwest, Illinois to the south, and Michigan to the northeast by land and across Green Bay and Lake Michigan, with Lake Superior forming the entire northern edge. The state holds 72 counties. Marathon County is the largest by land area at about 1,544.91 square miles, while Pepin County is the smallest at about 231.98 square miles. Milwaukee County is the most populous at roughly 924,740 residents, and Menominee County is the least populous at roughly 4,286 residents. Brown and Crawford counties share the title of oldest, both organized in 1818 when Wisconsin was still part of Michigan Territory. Wisconsin covers about 65,498 square miles in total, with about 54,158 square miles of land. The capital, Madison, sits in Dane County between Lakes Mendota and Monona, and the state's major metros run from Milwaukee and Madison in the southeast through Green Bay and the Fox Cities in the northeast to Eau Claire in the west. Landscape-wise, the state moves from the Lake Superior lowland and Northwoods lake country in the north, through the Central Sand Plain, into the unglaciated Driftless Area of hills and coulees in the southwest, and the glaciated Kettle Moraine country along Lake Michigan in the southeast.
This map uses Timms Hill in Price County and the Wisconsin, Fox, and Mississippi rivers as quick landmarks for finding your way around the county grid. If you need elevation, terrain, watershed, or land-cover detail, our Physical Map of Wisconsin covers that ground.
Wisconsin runs on a humid continental climate overall, though it plays out differently across the state: winters turn cold and snowy up north, while the lake-moderated air near Lake Michigan and Lake Superior keeps things a bit milder and shorter in the south and east. For the full seasonal and biome breakdown, see our Physical Map of Wisconsin.
By current population, Wisconsin's ten largest cities run Milwaukee (about 562,000, Milwaukee County), Madison (about 286,000, Dane County), Green Bay (about 107,000, Brown County), Kenosha (about 99,000, Kenosha County), Racine (about 78,000, Racine County), Appleton (about 75,000, Outagamie County), Eau Claire (about 72,000, Eau Claire County), Waukesha (about 71,000, Waukesha County), Oshkosh (about 67,000, Winnebago County), and Janesville (about 67,000, Rock County). Milwaukee carries the state's manufacturing weight, covering everything from engines and machinery to brewing, and its harbor still moves freight across Lake Michigan. Madison, the capital, is built around state government, University of Wisconsin research, and a growing insurance and finance sector anchored by companies like American Family Insurance. Dairy and agriculture touch nearly every rural county on the map, which is exactly how Wisconsin earned its "America's Dairyland" nickname, with cheesemaking concentrated around Green County and feed corn spread across the Fox Valley. Green Bay and the Fox Cities keep a strong paper and packaging industry running along the Fox River, and Superior, sitting on Lake Superior, remains one of the busiest Great Lakes shipping ports for iron ore, coal, and grain.
Football, cheese, and the outdoors run through Wisconsin's cultural identity in roughly equal measure. Lambeau Field in Brown County has hosted the Green Bay Packers since 1957, and Titletown status is still a point of statewide pride. Every summer, the EAA AirVenture fly-in pulls pilots and aviation fans into Winnebago County's Oshkosh, while Wisconsin Dells in Sauk County draws family tourists for its water parks and the Baraboo River bluffs. Door County's cherry orchards, lighthouses, and lakeside towns make it a favorite summer escape along Lake Michigan. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin estate sits in Iowa County near Spring Green, and Dane County's Madison anchors the University of Wisconsin along with its Big Ten sports tradition. The Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi nations maintain a living presence across the state, most visibly in Menominee County, which matches the boundary of the Menominee Indian Reservation.
North-south travel runs mainly along I-39 and I-41, with US-51 carrying that role through the center of the state, and I-43 handling the Lake Michigan side from Beloit through Milwaukee up to Green Bay. East-west travel splits into two main corridors: I-94 crosses the southern part of the state from Hudson through Eau Claire, Madison, and Milwaukee to the Illinois line, while I-90 runs from La Crosse through Tomah to Rock County and on into Illinois. One thing worth remembering: ZIP codes in Wisconsin do not follow county lines, so a single ZIP code can actually span two counties. Always check the county name directly against the map or index rather than guessing from a ZIP prefix.
Wisconsin has 72 counties, each shaded and labeled with its county seat.
Madison sits in Dane County between Lakes Mendota and Monona.
Milwaukee County, on the Lake Michigan shoreline.
At the mouth of the Fox River in Brown County.
Kenosha County, at the Illinois state line.
Outagamie County, in the Fox Cities.
Eau Claire County, where the Chippewa and Eau Claire rivers meet.
Waukesha County, west of Milwaukee.
Winnebago County, on Lake Winnebago's west shore.
Rock County, along the Rock River.
Douglas, Burnett, Polk, St. Croix, and Pierce by land, and Pepin, Buffalo, Trempealeau, La Crosse, Vernon, and Crawford along the Mississippi.
Crawford and Grant counties, along the Mississippi River near Iowa.
Grant, Lafayette, Green, Rock, Walworth, and Kenosha counties, west to east.
Marinette, Florence, Forest, Vilas, and Iron counties by land in the Upper Peninsula area.
Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, and Iron counties.
Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha counties.
In Door County, with Sturgeon Bay cutting across the peninsula.
Mainly Outagamie and Winnebago counties, around Appleton, Neenah, and Oshkosh.
La Crosse city sits in La Crosse County on the Mississippi River.
Wausau, in Marathon County.
Trace it from Rhinelander through Wausau, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, and Portage to the Mississippi River.
I-94, I-90, I-39, I-43, plus US-2, US-51, and US-53 as soft reference lines.
Off the Bayfield Peninsula in Bayfield County.
Superior is the seat of Douglas County on Lake Superior.
Sauk County, near the Baraboo Range.
Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Outagamie counties.
Stevens Point is the seat of Portage County.
Marathon County, at about 1,544.91 square miles.
Pepin County, at about 231.98 square miles.
Milwaukee County, with roughly 924,740 residents.
Menominee County, with roughly 4,286 residents.
Milwaukee, in Milwaukee County, with about 562,000 residents.
Brown and Crawford counties, both organized in 1818.
No. Printing or copying maps from this site is not permitted.
No. ZIP codes cross county lines, so use the county boundaries and seats shown here instead.
Physical Map of Wisconsin
Physical map and map image of Wisconsin.
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