Clark County, Wisconsin: County Profile

Clark County's census-designated places are Chili and Humbird.

The county economic development corporation credits a cheese factory opened near Colby by Ambrose Steinwand with developing Colby cheese, which it calls the only natural cheese native to the United States.

Neillsville is the county seat of Clark County, Wisconsin; county offices are at 517 Court Street, Neillsville, WI 54456.

Clark County was founded in 1853 and officially organized the following year.

The origin of Clark County's name is uncertain: it was named either for early settler A. W. Clark or for General George Rogers Clark.

The Clark County Sheriff's Office describes itself as serving Clark County for 168 years.

The county's official directory gives Clark County's land area as 1,222 square miles.

The Clark County Board of Supervisors has 29 supervisor districts.

Clark County has 61 election precincts, per the county's official directory.

Ken Gerhardt is Chairperson of the Clark County Board of Supervisors, and Scott Jalling of Owen is Vice Chairperson.

The Clark County Board meets monthly on the third Thursday or at the call of the chair; the 2026 fall session is set for November 10, 2026.

Christina M. Jensen is the Clark County Clerk and secretary to the County Board.

Clark County's constitutional officers include Treasurer Kyle Chamberlin, Register of Deeds Mary A. Denk, Clerk of Courts Heather Bravener, District Attorney Melissa Inlow, and Coroner Clarissa Rochester.

Lyndsey Brunette (Branch I) and William Bratcher (Branch II) are the Clark County Circuit Court judges.

Kerry L. Kirn is Sheriff of Clark County, appointed by Governor Tony Evers and serving since January 1, 2025.

The Sheriff's Office patrol division has 19 deputies providing 24-hour coverage to municipalities without their own police.

Clark County lies in the 7th Congressional District (Rep. Thomas Tiffany), the 23rd State Senate District (Sen. Jesse James), and the 69th Assembly District (Rep. Karen Hurd).

The county directory lists five qualified newspapers: the Clark County Press (Neillsville), Thorp Courier, Tribune Phonograph (Abbotsford), Tribune-Record-Gleaner (Loyal), and Enterprise Sentinel & Rural News (Owen and Withee).

Duane G. Poeschel is Mayor of the City of Neillsville, per the county's official directory.

Clark County's municipalities are 33 towns, 5 villages (Curtiss, Dorchester, Granton, Unity, Withee), and 8 cities or city parts (Abbotsford, Colby, Greenwood, Loyal, Neillsville, Owen, Stanley, Thorp).

Clark County had a population of 34,659 at the 2020 Census.

Clark County's final official population estimate for January 1, 2025, was 35,289.

The Census Bureau estimated Clark County's population at 34,801 as of July 1, 2024.

Clark County's census counts were 30,361 in 1970, 31,647 in 1990, and 34,690 in 2010.

The City of Neillsville had 2,384 residents at the 2020 Census and a 2025 official estimate of 2,360.

DWD describes Neillsville as Clark County's largest city and county seat, with most other municipalities at 2,000 residents or fewer.

Abbotsford, on the Clark-Marathon line, had the county's largest estimated population increase from 2020 to 2023, 92 residents.

The DWD profile ranks Clark County 41st most populous of Wisconsin's 72 counties, with 34,740 residents in the 2023 final estimate.

Clark County's natural increase of 1.6% from 2020 to 2023 ranked first in Wisconsin, while its net migration of -1.3% ranked 70th.

Clark County's 2022 birth rate was 16.3 births per 1,000 residents, against 10.2 for Wisconsin.

The state workforce profile attributes Clark County's high birth rate partly to the county's significant Amish population.

Clark County had 16 Amish church districts in 2013.

A 2020 religious membership chart reproduced on Wikipedia puts Anabaptist churches (Amish and Mennonite) at 12.5% of Clark County's population; the same article reports 1,986 Amish adherents in 2010.

State projections cited by DWD show Clark County growing 8.7%, from 34,659 in 2020 to 37,690 in 2050, one of only 13 Wisconsin counties projected to grow.

Clark County's median age is 37 (ACS 2019-2023 5-year, margin of error +/-0.3).

Clark County's median household income is $66,250 (ACS 2019-2023 5-year, margin of error +/-$1,331).

The median value of owner-occupied homes in Clark County is $163,800 (ACS 2019-2023 5-year, margin of error +/-$4,415).

Clark County averaged 11,188 jobs in 2023, up 45 (0.4%) from 2018.

Manufacturing is Clark County's largest industry at 32.2% of 2023 employment, and food manufacturing is its largest subsector, averaging 1,467 jobs.

DWD, citing the UW-Madison Applied Population Lab, reports 4.6 cows per Clark County resident as of 2017.

Construction was Clark County's fastest-growing industry from 2018 to 2023, adding 94 jobs (16.0%).

Clark County's average unemployment rate in 2023 was 2.8%, below the statewide 3.0%, ranking 22nd of 72 counties.

Clark County's labor force participation rate fell from 71.4% in 2018 to 68.4% in 2023, still above the state's 65.3%.

County Business Patterns counted 779 business establishments with 9,517 paid employees in Clark County in 2023.

Clark County's 79 manufacturing establishments had 3,947 paid employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns).

Clark County had 1,785 farms covering 409,582 acres in 2022, with an average farm size of 229 acres.

Farms in Clark County sold $568,151,000 of agricultural products in 2022, ranking 5th among Wisconsin's 72 counties; 78% of sales were livestock, poultry, and products.

Milk from cows brought Clark County farms $374,736,000 in 2022, which the NASS profile ranks 1st among the 66 Wisconsin counties producing milk.

Clark County farms held 148,739 cattle and calves on December 31, 2022.

97% of Clark County farms were family farms in 2022, per the NASS profile.

Clark County's Forestry and Parks Department manages a 134,694-acre county forest, which it describes as one of the largest county forests in Wisconsin.

The Forestry and Parks Department employs 13 full-time and up to 30 seasonal workers, with its maintenance shop on County Highway B in the Town of Hewett.

County parks and campgrounds listed by Forestry and Parks include Black River Rec Area, Greenwood Park, Mead Lake Park, Rock Dam Park, Russell Memorial Park, Sherwood Park, Snyder Park, Wildcat Mound, and Wild Rock Park, plus the Levis Mound trail system.

Bruce Mound Winter Sports Area near Merrillan, run by the county Forestry and Parks Department, has a 375-foot vertical rise, five lifts, and ten snow-tubing runs.

The county-run Clark County Rehabilitation & Living Center near Owen has provided care since 1922 and includes an 80-bed skilled nursing facility, a 30-bed psychiatric unit, and a 32-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit.

The 2026 Clark County Fair ran August 5 to 9, 2026, with the theme 'Red, White, & Boots.'

The overhead steel truss bridge carrying County Highway G (Begley Street) over the Black River in Greenwood was built in 1938 and scheduled for replacement in 2024-2025.

The Clark County Jail in Neillsville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1978.

Clark County has 22 National Register listings, including the Neillsville Downtown Historic District, the Wisconsin Pavilion and Omaha Hotel in Neillsville, Owen High School, and The Silver Dome Ballroom in Hewett.

The Highground, three miles west of Neillsville on US Highway 10, is a 155-acre veterans memorial park.

School districts serving Clark County communities include Abbotsford, Colby, Granton, Greenwood, Loyal, Neillsville, Owen-Withee, and Thorp.

Clark County has 10 public library outlets, in Abbotsford, Colby, Dorchester, Granton, Greenwood, Loyal, Neillsville, Owen, Thorp, and Withee.

Marshfield Medical Center Neillsville, at N3708 River Ave, operates a hospital and clinic in Neillsville.

Family Health Center - Neillsville Dental Center at 8 Boon Blvd is the county's HRSA-supported health center site.

Central Wisconsin Broadcasting holds licenses for FM stations WCCN-FM (107.5) and WPKG (92.7), both with Neillsville as community of license.