City of Tomahawk, Lincoln County, Wisconsin: Place Profile

A ranked list of Tomahawk's largest employers with headcounts could not be anchored to a fetched primary source.

The provider of ambulance service in Tomahawk was not confirmed from a primary source this session.

The municipality is the City of Tomahawk, an incorporated city in Lincoln County, Wisconsin (Census place GEOID 5580125, GNIS 01584284).

The City of Tomahawk is a separate municipality from the Town of Tomahawk, Lincoln County, which counted 458 residents in the 2020 census and has a 2025 estimate of 470.

The City of Tomahawk covers 7.856 square miles of land and 1.604 square miles of water, with an internal point near 45.478961, -89.711773.

The city sits on Lake Mohawksin, which the city describes as formed by the Somo, Tomahawk and Wisconsin rivers.

The city describes itself as located in northern Wisconsin at the southern end of the North Woods.

The 2020 census counted 3,441 residents in the City of Tomahawk.

The Wisconsin DOA January 1, 2025 official estimate for the City of Tomahawk is 3,459.

The Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 estimate for Tomahawk city is 3,390, from a 2020 estimates base of 3,438.

The city's own General Information page still describes Tomahawk as a city of 3,820, a figure above every current count.

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate of total population is 3,416 (margin of error +/-25).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median age in the City of Tomahawk is 41.3 years (margin of error +/-5).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median household income is $60,905 (margin of error +/-$13,531).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year median value of owner-occupied homes is $168,200 (margin of error +/-$11,966).

Tomahawk has a Mayor-Council form of government, with nine alderpersons representing three aldermanic districts.

The Mayor of Tomahawk is Michael "Hob" Habeck, whose term expires in 2028; he chairs the Board of Public Works, the Personnel Committee and the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The city operates a water and sewer utility, an airport, a police department, a parks department, a senior center, a library, a street department, a fire department and City Hall.

The alderpersons are Mickey Loka, Patricia E. Haskin and Robert Soward (District 1); Jeff Kahle, Donald Nelson and Will Garske (District 2); and Tadd Wegener, Steve "Ding" Bartz and Mike Loka (District 3).

Alderperson Jeff Kahle (District 2, term expiring 2028) is Council President.

Amanda L. Bartz is the City Clerk-Treasurer and Miranda Swenty is Deputy Clerk-Treasurer.

City department heads listed by the city include Chief of Police Al Elvins and Fire Chief Paul Winter.

City Hall is at 23 N. 2nd Street (PO Box 469), Tomahawk, WI 54487, phone (715) 453-4040, open 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Fridays.

The city's official website is cityoftomahawkwi.com; staff email addresses use the tomahawkwi.gov domain.

Regular Common Council meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, and the council offers remote attendance by phone or Zoom.

Agendas, packets and minutes for 13 bodies, the Common Council and 12 other boards and committees, post on the city website's Meetings & Agendas pages, with archives back to 2023; the agenda notes that additions are posted at City Hall.

The Common Council's September 1, 2026 agenda scheduled a public hearing on Ordinance 2026-06, which would regulate artificial wake enhancement on Lake Mohawksin and the Wisconsin and Tomahawk rivers within the city.

The city's home page carries a PFAS Drinking Water Advisory linking a March 2026 public notice about the municipal water supply.

The city is served by the Tomahawk School District (NCES 5514940), a PK-12 district of 3 schools at 1048 E Kings Rd that enrolled 1,142 students in 2024-25 with a student/teacher ratio of 12.85.

Tomahawk Elementary, Tomahawk Middle and Tomahawk High all share the 1048 E Kings Rd campus address.

The city names Harley-Davidson, Packaging Corporation of America, Northland Stainless, Daigle Bros. Inc. and Louisiana-Pacific as manufacturers operating in or near the city limits.

Harley-Davidson's plant at 426 E. Somo Ave. grew out of the Tomahawk Boat Company, in which Harley-Davidson bought a majority interest in March 1962 before buying out the founder's stock in January 1963; the plant became the company's fiberglass parts supplier.

Lincoln County had 686 business establishments and 8,854 paid employees in 2023; manufacturing was the largest sector by employment, with 2,532 paid employees at 43 establishments.

Tomahawk Main Street, Inc. files a written report to the Common Council, and the city has a Business Improvement District (BID) Board.

The Tomahawk Regional Chamber of Commerce, at 208 North 4th Street, promotes the area to visitors through gototomahawk.com.

The Tomahawk Leader covers Tomahawk "online daily, weekly in print," with sections for government, education, sports and legal notices.

Five FM-band stations are licensed to Tomahawk: WGBT (91.3), WJJQ-FM (92.5), translator W249EJ (97.7), WEQR (100.9) and low-power WLBI-LP (107.1).

AM station WJJQ (810 kHz) is licensed to Tomahawk.

Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital, at 401 W Mohawk Drive, operates an emergency department listed as open around the clock every day.

The Tomahawk Public Library is at 300 West Lincoln Avenue (715-453-2455); the city lists it as a city department, and its director is Heidi O'Hare.

The city operates its own Fire Department, led by Fire Chief Paul Winter.

The city operates an airport, overseen by an Airport Commission that meets at the call of its chairperson.

Tomahawk's ZIP code is 54487; a USPS retail post office was not confirmed from a USPS source this session.

Lake Mohawksin is a 1,515-acre lake in Lincoln County with a maximum depth of 25 feet, six public boat landings and a public beach; its fish include musky, walleye, northern pike, bass and panfish.

SARA Park, at 900 W Somo Avenue on the Wisconsin River and Lake Mohawksin, has a 10-site city campground, a public beach, a boat landing, a playground and a ball diamond.

The city's Park and Recreation page posts playground rules for Washington Square Park and rules for a city splash pad open 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Kwahamot Water Ski Club, founded in 1960, stages free shows at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Memorial Day through Labor Day at Kwahamot Bay, on the Wisconsin River off the North 4th Street bridge; the name is Tomahawk spelled backward.

The Tomahawk Fall Ride is an annual September motorcycle event; the city calendar lists it from September 16 to 20, 2026, and the library closed on September 19, 2026 for it.

The Common Council's September 1, 2026 agenda carried permits for the Tomahawk Homecoming Parade on October 2, 2026 and a Beer & Bacon Bash on October 3, 2026.

The city describes Tomahawk as founded primarily as a logging city in the 1890s.

Secondary sources date Tomahawk's founding to 1886 construction camps for a dam and railroad led by the Tomahawk Land and Boom Company, and its incorporation as a city to 1891.

Before Harley-Davidson, the Somo Avenue plant was the Tomahawk Boat Company, which the Tomahawk Leader credits with building fiberglass-hulled boats by the early 1950s; the Tomahawk Area Historical Society is at 18 E. Washington Ave.