City of Medford, Taylor County, Wisconsin: Place Profile

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The municipality is the City of Medford, an incorporated city in Taylor County, Wisconsin (Census place GEOID 5550425).

Medford is the county seat of Taylor County; the county clerk's office is at 224 S. 2nd Street in Medford.

The City of Medford is a separate municipality from the Town of Medford, which had a 2020 census count of 2,482.

The City of Medford covers 4.537 square miles of land and 0.029 square miles of water, with an internal point near 45.135433, -90.343502.

The Black River runs through the city, and the city's Riverwalk follows it around the millpond.

The 2020 census counted 4,349 residents in the City of Medford.

The Wisconsin DOA January 1, 2025 official estimate for the City of Medford is 4,524.

The Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 estimate for Medford city is 4,604 (2020 estimates base 4,350).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate of total population is 4,331 (margin of error +/-26).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median age in the City of Medford is 44.9 years (margin of error +/-4.7).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median household income is $53,173 (margin of error +/-$7,740).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median value of owner-occupied homes is $175,300 (margin of error +/-$24,660).

Medford has a mayor-council government: the mayor serves a two-year term, and each of four districts elects two alderpersons to staggered two-year terms.

The Mayor of Medford is Laura Holmes.

The Common Council members are Garett Krug and Darla Keefer (Wards 1 and 2), Tim Hansen and Ken Coyer (Wards 3 and 4), Christine Weix and Randy Haynes (Wards 5 and 6), and Michael Bub and Russ Paul (Wards 7 and 8).

The Medford Common Council normally meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month.

Agendas, minutes and packets are searchable from the city's Agendas & Minutes page, and notices post under News & Notices on medfordwi.gov, with email and text alert subscriptions.

Ashley Lemke is the City Clerk, reachable at (715) 748-4321.

City staff listed by the city include City Coordinator Joe Harris, Treasurer Kathy Tom and Building Inspector/Planner Robert Christensen; Courtney Graff is City Attorney.

City Hall and the Medford Utilities office are at 639 S. Second Street, Medford, WI 54451, open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; phone (715) 748-4321.

The city's official website is medfordwi.gov.

Chad Liske is Medford's Police Chief; the police department is at 224 S. Second Street and was founded in 1889 when the city was incorporated.

The city is served by the Medford Area Public School District (NCES 5508940), a PK-12 district of 5 schools with 3,220 students in 2024-25, based at 124 W. State Street.

Public schools with a Medford address include Medford Elementary (1065 W Broadway Ave), Medford Middle (509 E Clark St), Medford High (1015 W Broadway Ave) and Rural Virtual Academy (624 College St).

The district's school board meetings, committee packets and minutes are posted on medford.k12.wi.us.

School officials held a ribbon cutting in September 2026 to mark the opening of renovated Medford Area Public Schools facilities.

Medford Electric is a city-owned utility formed in 1944 that serves more than 3,292 customers in the city and parts of five surrounding towns, with 2019 sales of about 124 million kWh.

The city refers new businesses to Medford Area Economic Development and the Medford Area Chamber of Commerce for sites, and to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for state grants.

Taylor County had 482 business establishments and 6,986 paid employees in 2023, of which 2,627 worked in manufacturing, the county's largest sector.

The Star News publishes online in its own section of centralwinews.com, alongside the Courier Sentinel, Record Review, Tribune Phonograph and Record Gleaner, and covers Taylor County news.

Medford is the licensed community for FM station WKEB (99.3 MHz) and FM translators W254BB (98.7 MHz) and W296DL (107.1 MHz).

Medford is the licensed community for AM station WIGM (1490 kHz), licensee WIGM, INC.

The Frances L. Simek Memorial Library, at 400 N. Main Street on the east side of the Millpond, opened on December 21, 1998.

The Medford Area Fire Department is a volunteer department founded in 1885 at 844 W. Broadway Avenue; Mike Filas is fire chief.

Family Health Center - Medford Dental Center, a HRSA-supported health center site, is at 843 W. Broadway Avenue.

The Medford Post Office building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (October 24, 2000); current USPS retail hours were not confirmed.

Beyond electric service, the city runs water and wastewater utilities, refuse and recycling, and a shared-ride taxi service.

State Highways 64 and 13 intersect in Medford, where the Saturday farmers market is held.

Medford City Park, established in 1890, covers 100 acres with a bandshell, outdoor zero-entry pool, inclusive playground, tennis and basketball courts, softball fields, camping and a skatepark.

The paved Riverwalk follows the Black River through most of the city around the Millpond, with picnic areas along the way.

The Pine Line Trail, a 26-mile bike and walking path, has its Medford trailhead and parking on Allman Street on the north side of the city.

The city runs 9 first-come campsites along the Millpond in City Park from May 1 to September 30.

The city's outdoor heated zero-entry pool on Wheelock Street is shared with the Towns of Browning, Chelsea, Goodrich, Hammel, Little Black and Medford and the Village of Stetsonville as 2026 participating communities.

Whelen Avenue Park, opened in 2023 on a former parking lot, has an open-air shelter with year-round bathrooms, a temperature-controlled kitchen and a lighted splash pad.

The city points visitors to Taylor County lakes, the Chequamegon National Forest and the Ice Age Trail for outdoor recreation.

Medford holds two summer farmers markets: Tuesday afternoons in Whelen Park downtown and Saturday mornings at the corner of State Highways 64 and 13.

Rumblefest, Medford's auto show, and June Dairy Days in Medford and Gilman are among Taylor County's summer events, alongside the Taylor County Fair.

The Wisconsin Central Railroad and a lumber company laid out Medford in 1875 and named it after Medford, Massachusetts.

Medford was incorporated as a city in 1889.

The legislature organized Taylor County in 1875 and named Medford its county seat; the courthouse stands on land donated by the railroad.

Medford's National Register listings include the Taylor County Courthouse (1980), the J. W. Benn Building (1983), the Medford Free Public Library (1993) and the Medford Post Office (2000).

Medford hosted an annual mink festival in the 1960s and 1970s, reflecting Taylor County's fur-farming industry.