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Welcome to DeForest ...

The village of DeForest is located in Dane County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of DeForest, you might get a feel for it by knowing that the earliest mention that we've found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, DeForest has a population of 10,710 people<2> (see below for details).

DeForest is 930 feet [283 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: DeForest lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for DeForest: 608 & 353<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, DeForest had an population of 10,710 people. This is an increase of 19.85% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 45.36% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, DeForest had a population of 8,936 people. This makes DeForest the county's 9th most populous community.

The population of DeForest represents 0.16% of the total population of Wisconsin (which has 5,686,986 people), making it the state's 105th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 8,936 people, the population of DeForest increased 21.28% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 7,368 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for DeForest.

Communities Also Named DeForest ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named DeForest - they are located in Indiana and Ohio.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for DeForest.

Websites for DeForest ...

Official Website: www.vi.deforest.wi.us/

Communities near DeForest ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near DeForest.

  • Madison
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Sun Prairie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Prairie
    • Sun Prairie is located in Dane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,119 people
  • Fitchburg
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Middleton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middleton have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
    • Middleton is located in Dane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,195 people
  • Waunakee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waunakee have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waunakee
    • Waunakee is located in Dane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,188 people
  • McFarland
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McFarland have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
    • McFarland is located in Dane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,291 people
  • Monona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monona have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monona
    • Monona is located in Dane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,164 people
  • Cottage Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Columbus
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Prairie du Sac village
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around DeForest. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for DeForest.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of DeForest. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around DeForest.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around DeForest. See our Newspapers Page for DeForest.

Adding DeForest to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of DeForest in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for DeForest was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for DeForest.

The official website for DeForest: www.vi.deforest.wi.us/

The official website for Dane County: www.co.dane.wi.us/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Wisconsin's counties, including Dane, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for DeForest.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around DeForest - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 608 code has been Overlayed with the 353 area code. New phone numbers in the DeForest area will be assigned with one of these codes: 608 or 353. As a result, placing a call in the DeForest area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025