City of Wausau, Marathon County, Wisconsin: Place Profile

City government, school district, and library addresses in Wausau use ZIP codes 54401 and 54403, with P.O. boxes on 54402.

Wausau School District elementaries with in-city street addresses include Franklin, G D Jones, Grant, John Marshall, Lincoln, Riverview, Thomas Jefferson, and Hawthorn Hills.

A ranked list of Wausau's largest employers with headcounts could not be assembled from a primary source this session.

The location of Wausau's current main USPS retail post office was not confirmed from a USPS source this session.

Rib Mountain, Rib Mountain State Park, and Granite Peak Ski Area sit just outside the city; Granite Peak markets its chairlift views over Wausau.

The municipality is the City of Wausau, an incorporated city in Marathon County, Wisconsin (Census place GEOID 5584475).

Wausau city is identified as Census place GEOID 5584475 and county-subdivision GEOID 5507384475, and as DOA code 37291 in Wisconsin state records.

Wausau lies in Marathon County, Wisconsin.

The City of Wausau (DOA 37291) is a separate municipality from the Town of Wausau (DOA 37080), which had 2,161 residents in 2020 and a 2025 estimate of 2,204.

Wausau covers 19.228 square miles of land and 1.114 square miles of water.

Wausau's Census internal point is near 44.961766 N, 89.646538 W.

USGS GNIS records Wausau as a named populated place in Marathon County at 44.9591352, -89.6301221.

Wausau sits on the Wisconsin River; the Wausau Whitewater Park course runs along one-third mile of the river in downtown Wausau.

Wausau is the county seat of Marathon County.

A 'Wausau' mailing address does not place a site inside city limits: NCES lists schools such as Maine, Rib Mountain, Stettin, Hewitt-Texas, and South Mountain elementaries with Wausau addresses, and the Town of Wausau and Village of Maine clerks also use Wausau mailing addresses.

The 2020 Census counted 39,994 residents in the City of Wausau.

The Wisconsin DOA January 1, 2025 final estimate for the City of Wausau is 40,571, up 577 (1.44 percent) from 2020.

DOA estimates Wausau's voting-age population at 31,946 on January 1, 2025, up from 31,265 at the 2020 Census.

The Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 estimate for Wausau is 40,262 (July 1, 2024), from a 2020 estimates base of 40,034.

Wausau is the most populous municipality in Marathon County by the DOA 2025 estimate, ahead of the Village of Weston (15,944) and the Village of Kronenwetter (8,595).

By the DOA 2025 estimate, Wausau is the 17th most populous city in Wisconsin (18th among all municipalities, after the Village of Menomonee Falls).

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate puts Wausau's population at 39,893 (margin of error +/-66).

Wausau's median age is 38.4 years (ACS 2019-2023, +/-0.9).

Wausau's median household income is $61,877 (ACS 2019-2023, +/-$4,135).

Wausau's per capita income is $35,290 (ACS 2019-2023, +/-$1,813).

The median value of owner-occupied homes in Wausau is $155,900 (ACS 2019-2023, +/-$6,214).

Median gross rent in Wausau is $950 (ACS 2019-2023, +/-$33).

Wausau has an estimated 17,411 households (+/-426), of which 6,323 (+/-475) are a householder living alone.

Wausau has an estimated 18,774 housing units (ACS 2019-2023, +/-396).

Of Wausau's occupied housing units, 10,030 (about 57.6 percent) are owner-occupied and 7,381 are renter-occupied (ACS 2019-2023).

About 80.2 percent of Wausau residents (32,010, +/-623) identify as White alone (ACS 2019-2023).

About 10.8 percent of Wausau residents (4,303, +/-505) identify as Asian alone (ACS 2019-2023).

Hmong residents are Wausau's largest Asian group: an estimated 3,449 (+/-453), about 8.6 percent of the city's population and 80 percent of its Asian-alone population (ACS 2019-2023).

An estimated 2,149 Wausau residents (+/-439), about 5.4 percent, are Hispanic or Latino of any race (ACS 2019-2023).

An estimated 2,316 Wausau residents (+/-327) identify as two or more races (ACS 2019-2023).

An estimated 2,811 Wausau residents (+/-501), about 7.0 percent, are foreign-born; 1,731 of them were born in Asia and 780 in Latin America (ACS 2019-2023).

About 14.4 percent of Wausau residents for whom poverty status is determined (5,640 of 39,101, +/-829) had income below the poverty level in the past 12 months (ACS 2019-2023).

Of Wausau adults 25 and older, about 92.0 percent hold at least a high school diploma or equivalent and about 30.0 percent hold a bachelor's degree or higher (ACS 2019-2023).

Wausau's civilian labor force is an estimated 20,691 (+/-555), with 972 unemployed (+/-281), an unemployment rate near 4.7 percent (ACS 2019-2023).

Wausau has a mayor and an 11-member Common Council of alderpersons.

Doug Diny is the Mayor of Wausau and presides over the Common Council.

Doug Diny was sworn in as mayor on April 16, 2024, after defeating incumbent Katie Rosenberg in the April 2, 2024 election.

The 2026-2028 Common Council members are Carol Lukens, Michael Martens, Terry Kilian, Tom Neal, Andrew Wiskowski, Kristin Slonski, Matt Hoenecke, Sarah Watson, Vicki Tierney, Lou Larson, and Bruce Trueblood.

Alderperson Terry Kilian was elected Wausau Common Council President for the 2026-2028 term on a 6-5 secret-ballot vote.

The Common Council's regular meetings are generally held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Wausau City Hall, 407 Grant Street.

Wausau City Hall is at 407 Grant Street, Wausau, WI 54403; the city lists (715) 261-6500 and [email address] on its meeting documents.

Kody Hart served as Acting City Clerk at the April 21, 2026 organizational meeting and posted the September 8, 2026 council notice.

The state Municipal Data System still lists Kaitlyn Bernarde as the City of Wausau clerk (715-261-6622), a record last updated from a February 2022 email.

The city's official website is wausauwi.gov.

Meeting notices are posted at City Hall (407 Grant Street) and transmitted to the officially designated newspaper; agendas, packets, and minutes are published on the city's CivicClerk portal.

Council meetings can be viewed on YouTube (@CityofWausauMeetings) and on cable Channel 981.

On April 21, 2026 the Common Council designated the Wausau Daily Herald as the official city newspaper, by a 10-1 vote.

The city's CivicClerk portal lists 36 meeting bodies, including the Common Council, Committee of the Whole, Finance, Economic Development, Plan Commission, Police & Fire Commission, Transit Commission, Airport Committee, Water Works Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, and Wausau Arts Commission.

The City of Wausau's CivicClerk feed held 1,720 meeting events at the time of fetch.

The city's ADA coordinator can be reached at (715) 261-6622 or [email address], with requests asked 72 hours before a meeting.

The city operates a Wausau Water Works Commission; Alderperson Michael Martens was elected its council member for 2026-2028 on a 7-4 vote.

Wausau has its own police and fire departments; the Wausau Police and Fire Department Honor Guard seated the 2026 council.

The Wausau Fire Department operates three stations with firefighter/paramedics and ambulances, and the Wausau Police Department was founded in 1872.

The Wausau School District (NCES ID 5515900) is a PK-12 regular local district in Marathon County with 18 schools, headquartered at 415 Seymour Street, Wausau.

The Wausau School District enrolled 7,738 students in 2024-25, with 580.79 FTE classroom teachers (13.32 students per teacher).

The Wausau School District reported $159,209,000 in total revenue for fiscal 2022-23: 49 percent state, 39 percent local, 12 percent federal.

Wausau's public high schools are East High (2607 N 18th St) and West High (1200 W Wausau Ave).

The district's middle schools are Horace Mann Middle (3101 N 13th St) and John Muir Middle (1400 W Stewart Ave).

Public charter and alternative programs with Wausau addresses include Wausau Area Montessori Charter School, Enrich Excel Achieve Learning Academy, and Wausau Area Virtual Education.

Northcentral Technical College's Wausau campus is at 1000 W. Campus Dr., Wausau, WI 54401; the college lists more than 190 program offerings.

UW-Stevens Point at Wausau lists its address as 1000 Campus Dr, Wausau, and partners with NTC on a joint path to four-year degrees ('The Purple and Blue Advantage').

Aspirus Health lists its corporate address as 2200 Westwood Drive, Wausau, WI 54401.

Withheld here: the source behind this claim is held for editorial review. The sealed corpus holds the claim in full.

Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork (Kolbe Windows & Doors) moved its business to Wausau in 1946 and describes itself as a major employer in Wausau.

The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce is the area chamber of commerce.

The Wausau River District is the downtown organization promoting economic vitality and historic preservation in downtown Wausau.

The Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau markets the area as 'Visit Wausau'.

MCDEVCO, Inc. provides gap financing and micro loans for businesses across Marathon County.

Marathon County had 3,436 business establishments and 65,770 paid employees in 2023; manufacturing (18,923) and health care and social assistance (10,570) employed the most.

Employers Insurance of Wausau, now part of Liberty Mutual, led the diversification of the city's economy in the early 20th century.

Wausau Pilot & Review is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom covering central Wisconsin, with an office at 235 Forest St. #117, Wausau.

The Wausau Daily Herald is the city's designated official newspaper; the city resolution calls it the only newspaper of daily general circulation in the city.

The City Pages is a Wausau publication at 800 Scott Street, Suite 11, that publishes online daily and in print weekly.

WSAW, which calls itself "A Gray Local Media Station", lists its address as 1114 Grand Ave., Wausau.

WAOW, an ABC station owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, is at 1908 Grand Ave, Wausau.

98.9 WXCO (Civic Media) broadcasts news and talk from 301 North 3rd St, Wausau.

The FCC FM query lists 14 FM stations, low-power FM stations, and FM translators licensed to Wausau. AM and TV licenses are outside this source.

WNRB-LP (93.3 FM), licensed to Wausau, is held by the Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association, the former name of the Hmong American Center.

Wisconsin's Educational Communications Board holds Wausau FM licenses for WHRM (90.9 FM), WLBL-FM (91.9 FM), and translator W267BB (101.3 FM).

The Marathon County Public Library's Wausau Headquarters is at 300 North First Street, the hub of a nine-location county system.

The Wausau Headquarters library is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Aspirus Wausau Hospital at 333 Pine Ridge Boulevard is open 24 hours and operates an emergency department; main phone (715) 847-2121.

Bridge Community Health Clinic operates HRSA-supported health center sites in Wausau, including 1810 N 2nd St and school-based sites at East High, West High, John Muir Middle, and G D Jones Elementary.

The United States Post Office and Court House in Wausau was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 2012.

Wausau Downtown Airport (FAA identifier AUW) is publicly owned by the City of Wausau and has two paved runways, 13/31 (5,200 feet) and 5/23 (3,041 feet).

The Hmong American Center at 1109 6th Street, formerly the Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association, was organized in 1984 to assist Southeast Asian refugees in the Wausau-Marathon County area.

The city runs a Transit Commission; Metro Ride provides local bus service.

Wausau Whitewater Park, at 200 River Drive, runs more than twelve natural and engineered features along one-third mile of the Wisconsin River downtown.

Marathon Park, 1201 Stewart Ave., is home to the Wisconsin Valley Fair; the Marathon County Fairgrounds were listed on the National Register in 1980.

Lake Wausau is a named reservoir in Marathon County at 44.9186768, -89.6334654.

The Wausau Woodchucks play in the Northwoods League.

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, at 700 N. 12th St., offers free admission and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

The Grand Theater at 401 N 4th St is operated by the Performing Arts Foundation.

The Center for the Visual Arts, at 427 North Fourth Street, runs four gallery spaces and was founded in 1982.

The Children's Imaginarium at 195 N 2nd Street has more than 10,000 square feet of hands-on STEM exhibits.

Birds in Art, the Woodson Art Museum's annual juried exhibition, reached its 51st year in 2026; it grew out of the museum's inaugural 1976 exhibition.

The Wisconsin Valley Fair at Marathon Park ran August 4-9, 2026, its 158th year.

The Hmong Wausau Festival ran August 1-2, 2026 at the Peoples Sports Complex, 602 E. Kent Street.

The Wausau Night Market runs summer Thursdays, 5 to 9 p.m., on 3rd Street downtown; the series won Best Event at the 2025 Wisconsin Main Street Awards.

The Big Bull Falls Blues Fest marked its 35th year in 2026, on August 21-22.

The Central Wisconsin Book Festival runs September 23-27, 2026 with events in Wausau, Stevens Point, and Wisconsin Rapids.

Wausau Events, Inc., at 316 Scott Street, is a nonprofit 'dedicated to creating community through events.'

Wausau's name comes from the Ojibwe 'waasa', meaning 'a faraway place'; French explorers called the site Big Bull Falls for the river rapids.

The settlement incorporated as a village in 1861.

Wausau received its city charter in 1872 and elected August Kickbusch as its first mayor.

Wausau developed as a lumbering center on the Wisconsin River's pine forests and river transport.

Hmong refugees came to Wausau from the late 1970s, and local Catholic and Lutheran church organizations helped them adapt to American life.

24 National Register listings are recorded under Wausau, including the Andrew Warren, East Hill, and Highland Park historic districts, Hotel Wausau, the Cyrus C. Yawkey House, and the Wausau Club.

The Marathon County Historical Society documents Martin Luther King Jr.'s visit to Wausau on May 12, 1967.

The Woodson Art Museum was incorporated in 1973 and opened in September 1976.

Wausau Downtown Airport's FAA activation date is November 1937.