State food-access profile · 72 counties

Food access in Wisconsin

How far Wisconsin residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

21.4%
low-access pop.: 133
food-desert tracts: 11.1%
on SNAP: 72
counties

The statewide picture

About 1.2M Wisconsin residents - 21.4% - live in a low-access area, and 133 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

1.2M
low-access residents: 284K
food-desert residents: 6.4%
households, no vehicle: 10.6%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Wisconsin stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Wisconsin is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Wisconsin against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 72 counties and 5.9M residents, Wisconsin's population-weighted low-access share is 21.4%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 133 tracts in Wisconsin, home to roughly 284K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 11.1% of households, and 6.4% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

21.4%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

1.2M

Low-access residents

11.1%

Avg. SNAP

Richland

52.9
Waukesha

41.2
Forest

38.1
Rusk

37.4
Winnebago

37
Rock

35.3
Ozaukee

33.8
Taylor

33.4

All counties in Wisconsin

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Richland County	17K	52.9%	14.3%	6.7%	14.5%
Waukesha County	412K	41.2%	4.4%	3.5%	5.2%
Forest County	9K	38.1%	15.0%	5.2%	15.2%
Rusk County	14K	37.4%	16.2%	5.4%	13.1%
Winnebago County	172K	37.0%	9.6%	5.5%	11.3%
Rock County	164K	35.3%	12.9%	6.0%	9.3%
Ozaukee County	93K	33.8%	5.0%	3.9%	5.0%
Taylor County	20K	33.4%	9.3%	5.1%	9.6%
Jackson County	21K	33.3%	15.3%	5.8%	12.4%
Walworth County	106K	33.2%	7.7%	3.9%	9.4%
Washington County	138K	33.0%	5.1%	3.7%	5.8%
Sawyer County	18K	32.7%	13.7%	4.3%	15.6%
Eau Claire County	107K	32.0%	11.1%	6.4%	11.8%
Langlade County	19K	31.1%	13.4%	6.2%	13.5%
Bayfield County	17K	30.2%	11.6%	4.2%	9.8%
Douglas County	44K	30.1%	12.5%	8.0%	10.8%
Kenosha County	168K	28.6%	12.2%	4.9%	10.5%
Ashland County	16K	28.5%	14.3%	5.8%	13.4%
Juneau County	27K	25.4%	14.9%	4.3%	13.0%
Calumet County	53K	25.3%	6.1%	3.1%	5.9%
Outagamie County	193K	25.3%	8.2%	4.1%	6.3%
Brown County	271K	25.0%	10.5%	5.1%	9.1%
Dane County	573K	24.9%	8.1%	8.2%	10.6%
Wood County	74K	24.7%	13.2%	5.5%	10.8%
Crawford County	16K	23.9%	10.9%	6.0%	13.8%
Buffalo County	13K	23.3%	10.5%	3.3%	8.4%
Marathon County	138K	23.2%	9.9%	4.8%	8.7%
Chippewa County	67K	22.0%	11.8%	4.8%	10.2%
Menominee County	4K	21.8%	26.0%	5.0%	21.7%
Manitowoc County	81K	21.5%	10.3%	5.3%	9.6%
Fond du Lac County	104K	20.8%	9.5%	5.6%	9.2%
La Crosse County	120K	20.8%	9.3%	7.0%	12.4%
Columbia County	58K	20.7%	8.9%	4.4%	7.8%
Racine County	198K	19.6%	12.3%	5.2%	10.3%
Dunn County	46K	19.2%	12.7%	3.5%	10.7%
Marinette County	42K	18.9%	12.1%	3.9%	9.8%
Clark County	35K	18.4%	10.5%	9.8%	12.1%
Monroe County	46K	18.3%	14.0%	8.3%	11.7%
Barron County	47K	17.8%	11.5%	4.8%	11.0%
Waushara County	25K	17.7%	12.4%	5.1%	10.9%
Pierce County	43K	16.8%	5.9%	2.7%	9.8%
Vernon County	31K	15.9%	9.1%	9.1%	13.1%
Washburn County	17K	15.8%	11.5%	4.3%	11.5%
Lafayette County	17K	15.3%	8.7%	5.0%	11.9%
Door County	30K	14.7%	7.8%	2.7%	7.7%
Price County	14K	14.2%	13.2%	5.3%	11.9%
Lincoln County	28K	13.1%	13.1%	4.7%	10.6%
Waupaca County	52K	13.1%	10.0%	5.9%	10.4%
Shawano County	41K	12.7%	11.0%	6.3%	11.1%
Green County	37K	12.2%	8.2%	4.3%	7.7%
Dodge County	89K	12.0%	10.7%	4.1%	8.5%
Grant County	52K	12.0%	10.6%	4.9%	13.0%
Portage County	71K	12.0%	8.0%	3.9%	10.1%
Florence County	5K	11.9%	13.3%	2.1%	7.3%
St. Croix County	96K	11.7%	6.2%	3.3%	6.6%
Sheboygan County	118K	10.9%	8.8%	5.2%	8.5%
Trempealeau County	31K	10.8%	9.1%	4.7%	9.9%
Iron County	6K	10.1%	12.1%	4.2%	10.5%
Oneida County	38K	10.1%	7.9%	4.3%	8.5%
Vilas County	24K	10.1%	9.9%	3.8%	11.1%
Adams County	21K	9.9%	14.6%	4.2%	14.1%
Burnett County	17K	9.8%	12.5%	4.4%	12.8%
Sauk County	66K	9.7%	10.1%	5.1%	8.1%
Jefferson County	86K	9.6%	9.2%	4.6%	8.1%
Iowa County	24K	8.6%	9.5%	4.3%	7.6%
Milwaukee County	926K	8.6%	20.5%	12.5%	17.2%
Green Lake County	19K	8.3%	11.7%	7.8%	13.8%
Oconto County	40K	6.6%	9.0%	3.4%	8.2%
Polk County	46K	5.8%	9.7%	3.7%	8.2%
Marquette County	16K	1.7%	11.9%	4.6%	13.1%
Kewaunee County	21K	0.4%	5.2%	2.8%	7.6%
Pepin County	7K	0.0%	9.9%	3.6%	10.2%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

21.4% of Wisconsin residents, about 1.2M people, live in a low-access area.
133 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 284K low-income, low-access residents.
11.1% of households receive SNAP, and 6.4% have no vehicle.
Richland County has the state's highest low-access share at 52.9%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Wisconsin has low food access?▼

21.4% of Wisconsin residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Wisconsin?▼

133 census tracts in Wisconsin are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 284K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Wisconsin?▼

Across Wisconsin counties, an average of 11.1% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Wisconsin has the worst food access?▼

Richland County has the highest low-access share in Wisconsin at 52.9%, with 14.3% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

← All states · Methodology