City of Merrill, Lincoln County, Wisconsin: Place Profile

The city publishes meeting agendas, agenda packets and minutes through its CivicClerk portal (merrillwi.portal.civicclerk.com); minutes are also available at the City Clerk's office.

A current, primary-source ranking of the largest employers inside the City of Merrill with headcounts was not found.

The City of Merrill is an incorporated city in Lincoln County, Wisconsin (Census place GEOID 5551250, ANSI 01583701).

The City of Merrill is a separate municipality from the Town of Merrill, which the Wisconsin DOA lists under its own code (35014) with a 2020 Census count of 2,881.

The Wisconsin Department of Administration identifies the city as 'C Merrill', DOA code 35251, in Lincoln County.

The city covers 7.485 square miles of land and 0.58 square miles of water.

The Census internal point for the city is near 45.180635 N, 89.700339 W.

USGS GNIS records Merrill as a populated place in Lincoln County (feature ID 1569368) at 45.1805223, -89.683459.

The Merrill Area Chamber of Commerce describes Merrill as the 'City of Parks'.

The chamber describes Merrill as situated along the Wisconsin and Prairie Rivers.

The chamber places Merrill about 20 miles north of Wausau.

Merrill is the county seat of Lincoln County.

The 2020 Census counted 9,347 residents in the City of Merrill.

The Wisconsin DOA's official January 1, 2025 estimate for the City of Merrill is 9,411.

The DOA estimates a 2025 voting-age population of 7,573 in the city.

The Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 estimate for Merrill city is 9,445, from a 2020 estimates base of 9,355.

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate of total population for Merrill city is 9,224 (margin of error +/-20).

The ACS 2019-2023 median age in Merrill city is 43.4 years (+/-1.8).

The ACS 2019-2023 median household income in Merrill city is $49,947 (+/-$5,450), in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars.

The ACS 2019-2023 median value of owner-occupied housing in Merrill city is $113,200 (+/-$4,929).

Merrill has a mayor and an eight-member Common Council, one alderperson for each of eight districts (D1 through D8).

The Mayor of Merrill is Steve J. Hass.

As of the September 8, 2026 meeting, the alderpersons by district are: D1 A. Caylor, D2 M. Caylor, D3 Meyer, D4 Fermanich, D5 Holdorf, D6 Sukow, D7 Weix Jr., D8 Rutkowski.

D4 Alderperson Fermanich was elected President of the Common Council at the April 21, 2026 reorganizational meeting.

The city employs a City Administrator (listed as City Administrator Akey in the September 8, 2026 minutes).

The City Clerk is Lori Anderson-Malm (phone 715-536-5594).

The city clerk's mailing address is 1004 E First Street, Merrill, WI 54452.

The Common Council holds its regular meeting monthly, generally on the second Tuesday, at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

The September 8, 2026 Common Council agenda lists a 6:30 PM regular meeting in the City Hall Council Chambers and offers remote attendance by phone.

The City of Merrill's official website is www.ci.merrill.wi.us.

City bodies that met in summer 2026 include the City Plan Commission, Airport Commission, Transit Commission, Police and Fire Commission, Library Board, Fairgrounds Committee, Enrichment Center Committee, Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Public Works, Health and Safety Committee, and Personnel and Finance Committee.

Department heads listed at the September 8, 2026 meeting include Finance Director Ley, Fire Chief Klug, Police Chief Bennett, Library Director Ollhoff, and Park & Recreation Director Wendorf.

Public schools in Merrill belong to the Merrill Area School District (NCES ID 5509210), a PK-12 district of 7 schools.

NCES reports 2,686 students and 174.70 classroom teacher FTE in the Merrill Area School District for 2024-25.

The district office is at 1111 N Sales St., Merrill (phone 715-536-4581), and the district website is mapsedu.org.

NCES lists seven public schools with a Merrill mailing address: Merrill High, Prairie River Middle, Kate Goodrich Elementary, Washington Elementary, Pine River School for Young Learners, Merrill Adult Diploma Academy, and Bridges Virtual Academy.

Merrill High School is at 1201 N Sales St.

Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. lists its address as 3000 Schuster Lane, Merrill, WI 54452.

The chamber describes Merrill's industrial and manufacturing base as including metals, window, door, packaging, and footwear production.

A 2022 regional planning profile of Lincoln County names its major employers as Church Mutual Insurance Company, Packaging Corporation of America, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Semco Windows and Doors, and Pioneer Transportation Ltd.

Lincoln County had 686 business establishments and 8,854 paid employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns).

Manufacturing is Lincoln County's largest CBP sector by paid employment in 2023: 43 establishments with 2,532 employees.

The Merrill Foto News is the city's local newspaper, published online daily and weekly in print, at 2011 E. Main St.

Bluejay 96.3 FM and 730 AM bills itself as 'Merrill's Hometown Voice', with a studio at 1016 East Main Street.

WJMT (AM 730 kHz), licensed to Sunrise Broadcasting LLC, has Merrill as its community of license.

FM stations licensed to Merrill include WHJL (88.1), W242CZ (96.3, Sunrise Broadcasting), WDYD-LP (102.5), and WXVM (104.1).

The T.B. Scott Free Library is at 106 West First Street, Merrill (telephone 715-536-7191).

The T.B. Scott Free Library opened on March 24, 1891 and moved into its Carnegie building in Stange's Park in 1911.

Aspirus Merrill Hospital is at 601 South Center Avenue, with emergency department and urgent care services.

The Merrill Foto News reported that Aspirus Merrill Hospital received Stroke Silver Plus and Rural Stroke Silver awards from the American Heart Association in July 2026.

HRSA lists three Bridge Community Health Clinic sites in Merrill: Merrill HS (1201 N Sales St), Merrill MS (106 N Polk St), and Behavioral Health Merrill (726 E 2nd St).

The city has its own fire and police departments, led by Fire Chief Klug and Police Chief Bennett as of September 2026.

The Lincoln County Courthouse at 1110 E. Main St., Merrill, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 19, 1978.

The Merrill Post Office building at 430 E. Second St. was listed on the National Register on October 24, 2000; Merrill addresses use ZIP code 54452.

The city has an Airport Commission that meets at the Merrill Airport Terminal.

The Merrill Area Chamber of Commerce serves as both chamber and local Visitor Center, with its office at 705 N Center Avenue.

The Center Avenue Historic District, roughly bounded by Cedar, Park, Third, Center and Seventh Streets, was listed on the National Register on June 17, 1994.

Council Grounds State Park lies just west of Merrill on the Wisconsin River, with campsites, trails, a beach, an accessible fishing pier, and a boat landing to Lake Alexander.

The chamber promotes the Underdown Recreation Area in Lincoln County, with 37 miles of mountain bike single track, 25 miles of horse trails, and an Ice Age Trail segment.

The Merrill Area Chamber runs a lighted Christmas parade of motorized entries, stepping off at 5:00 pm at S. Genesee Street and West Main Street.

The Common Council approved a temporary license for the Chamber's Sip & Stroll Merrill on October 17, 2026, 1:00 to 7:00 pm, at locations throughout the city.

Merrill held a Labor Day Parade and a car show in 2026, per the mayor's communications at the September 8, 2026 council meeting.

The 2026 Lincoln County Fair was held in August 2026, and the county health department works with its Fair Board.

Before it was Merrill the settlement was known as Jenny or Jenny Bull Falls; Andrew Warren's 1847 dam and sawmill on the Wisconsin River mark the start of the permanent community.

In 1881 the Village Board renamed the community Merrill, after Sherburn Sanborn Merrill, general manager of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, which reached the area in 1879.

Merrill was incorporated as a city in 1883, and lumberman T.B. Scott was elected its first mayor.

T.B. Scott, who died in 1886, willed $10,000 to the city to found a free public library.

National Register listings recorded under Merrill: Center Avenue Historic District (1994), First Street Bridge over the Prairie River (1996), Lincoln County Courthouse (1978), Merrill City Hall at 717 E. 2nd St. (1978), Merrill Post Office (2000), and the T.B. Scott Free Library (1974).

The Merrill Historical Society operates a History & Cultural Center at 100 E. Third St.

Lincoln County is served by U.S. Highways 8 and 51 and State Highways 17, 64, 86 and 107, with no interstate.

The nearest scheduled airline service for Lincoln County is Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee.