City of Stanley, Chippewa and Clark Counties, Wisconsin: Place Profile

The municipality is the City of Stanley, an incorporated city (Census place GEOID 5576625) whose territory spans Chippewa and Clark counties, Wisconsin.

Nearly all of Stanley lies in Chippewa County; its Clark County part, where Wausau Wire files it, had a 2020 census count of 0 and a January 1, 2025 estimate of 140.

The City of Stanley is distinct from the Town of Stanley in Barron County, a separate civil town with its own clerk.

Stanley covers 4.294 square miles of land and 0.069 square miles of water, with an internal point near 44.959383, -90.943719.

The Clark County part of Stanley covers 0.505 square miles of land, centered near 44.956944, -90.914058.

The 2020 census counted 3,804 residents in the City of Stanley, all county parts combined.

The Wisconsin DOA January 1, 2025 official estimate for the City of Stanley, all county parts, is 3,903.

The Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 estimate for Stanley city is 3,778, from a 2020 estimates base of 3,815.

Stanley's population includes the men held at Stanley Correctional Institution, which has an operating capacity of 1,500; the pages fetched do not separate that group out, so the resident household population is lower than the headline count by an unmeasured amount.

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate of Stanley's total population is 3,774 (margin of error +/-20).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median age in Stanley is 39 years (margin of error +/-2).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median household income in Stanley is $47,857 (margin of error +/-$9,806).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median value of owner-occupied housing in Stanley is $153,200 (margin of error +/-$19,233).

Stanley has a mayor-council form of government; the Common Council meets the first and third Mondays of each month at 7 p.m.

Four ward groups (Wards 1 and 8; Ward 2; Ward 3; Wards 4-7 and 9) each elect two alderpersons, for eight council seats.

The Mayor of Stanley is Ben Wald.

The alderpersons are Aaron Dickson, Alan Haas, Jason Meyer, Keith Samuelson, Laurie Foster, Mark Fitzsimmons, Morgan Marek and Terry Metzger.

The state Municipal Data System lists Magdlin Wurst as the City of Stanley clerk (715-644-5758, [email address]) for both the Chippewa (09281) and Clark (10281) parts.

City Hall, the Clerk-Treasurer's office and the Police Department share 353 South Broadway Street, Stanley, WI 54768 (715-644-5758), open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a drive-thru window during business hours.

The official website is ci.stanley.wi.gov.

Council and committee-of-the-whole agendas and meeting packets post to the city's Agendas & Minutes page, which also links recorded meeting audio; the most recent posting at fetch was the September 21, 2026 Common Council agenda.

Stanley is served by the Stanley-Boyd Area School District (NCES ID 5514430), headquartered at 507 E. 1st Ave. in Stanley, which runs 4 schools from pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

The Stanley-Boyd Area School District enrolled 1,069 students in 2024-25 with 80.09 full-time-equivalent classroom teachers, a student/teacher ratio of 13.35.

The district's schools are Stanley Elementary School, Stanley-Boyd Middle School, Stanley-Boyd High School and the Boyd Early Learning Center.

Stanley Correctional Institution, a state prison for adult men at 100 Corrections Drive, is a major institutional presence: medium security, operating capacity 1,500, on 100 acres just south of the city and Highway 29.

The prison began in 1998 as a joint venture of the Dominion Company and the City of Stanley; the State of Wisconsin bought it in November 2001.

Ace Ethanol LLC operates at 815 West Maple St. in Stanley and buys corn from northwestern Wisconsin producers.

Clark County, the Wausau Wire filing county, had 779 business establishments and 9,517 paid employees in 2023; Stanley's economy is centered in Chippewa County, where nearly all of the city lies.

The city runs two water treatment plants supplying nearly one million gallons per day to business, industry and residential customers, plus a wastewater plant on the city's southeast corner along Highway 29.

The Stanley Republican is the local newspaper, published from 200 S. Broadway St. in Stanley.

The Republican came to Stanley in 1896 under editor Wilbur Henry Bridgman, absorbed the Stanley Journal in 1897, and took its current name in April 1899; the Boyd Bee later joined it.

The D.R. Moon Memorial Library is at 154 Fourth Avenue (715-644-2004), open weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; it is fine free and is planning a renovation and expansion.

Aspirus Stanley Hospital, at 1120 Pine Street, provides an emergency department and urgent care in the city.

The Stanley Volunteer Fire Department is housed at 239 E. 1st Ave.; the city's ISO fire rating is 4.

The Stanley Police Department, which presents itself as the 'Stanley (Boyd) Police Department', operates from 353 South Broadway Street (non-emergency 715-644-5975).

Stanley's ZIP code is 54768; a dedicated USPS retail location was not confirmed from a USPS primary source this session.

Chapman Lake Park is an 81-acre park donated by the Northwestern Lumber Company after its mill closed in 1922 and named for mill manager George Chapman; it holds a campground, pavilion, ball field and a deer and elk park.

Nearby recreation includes Otter Lake County Park (35309 170th Ave.), Mahr's Meadow Disc Golf Course (430 W. 4th Ave.) and the Chippewa County ATV trail.

The Stanley PRCA Rodeo runs each June at Chapman Park; the 2026 edition ran June 19-21 with a professional horse pull on Sunday.

The Stanley Area Historical Society Museum spans four buildings and over 12,000 square feet, with exhibits including a 1906 Cadillac and a farming and logging building; it opens 1 to 4 p.m. on summer weekends.

Stanley was platted in 1881 when the Wisconsin Central Railroad built through Chippewa County and was named for Lemuel C. Stanley of Chippewa Falls.

The Northwestern Lumber Company of Eau Claire opened a large sawmill at Stanley in 1891; Stanley became a village in 1895 and a city in 1898.