Welcome to Milwaukee ...
The city of Milwaukee is primarily located in Milwaukee County<1> and is the County Seat for Milwaukee County. A portion of Milwaukee extends into Washington County and Waukesha County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Milwaukee, you might consider that their post office opened in 1835.
When the people of Milwaukee refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Milwaukeean<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Milwaukee has a population of 590,952 people<3> (see below for details).
Milwaukee is 700 feet [213 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Milwaukee lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The ZIP codes for Milwaukee: 53201-53228, 53233-53235, 53237, 53259, 53263, 53267-53268, 53274, 53278, 53288, 53290, 53293, 53295<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Milwaukee had an population of 590,952 people. This is a decrease of 0.65% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 1.01% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Milwaukee had a population of 594,833 people (which is 62.73% of the total population of Milwaukee County). This makes Milwaukee the county's most populous community.
The population of Milwaukee represents 10.46% of the population of Wisconsin (which has 5,686,986 people), making it the state's most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 594,833 people, the population of Milwaukee has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (with a count of 596,974 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Milwaukee.
Communities Also Named Milwaukee ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 5 communities that are also named Milwaukee - they are located in Kansas (3), North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Milwaukee.
Websites for Milwaukee ...
Official Website: www.milwaukee.gov/
Junior League: www.jlmilw.org/
Communities near Milwaukee ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Milwaukee.
- Waukesha
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukesha
- Waukesha is located in Waukesha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72,376 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Waukesha
- From Milwaukee to Waukesha
- New Berlin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Berlin
- New Berlin is located in Waukesha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,812 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to New Berlin
- From Milwaukee to New Berlin
- Brookfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookfield have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Brookfield is located in Waukesha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,164 people
- Menomonee Falls
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menomonee Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menomonee Falls
- Menomonee Falls is located in Waukesha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38,243 people
- Oak Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Creek
- Oak Creek is located in Milwaukee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,469 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Oak Creek
- From Milwaukee to Oak Creek
- Franklin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Muskego
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Caledonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Caledonia is located in Racine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,235 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Caledonia
- From Milwaukee to Caledonia
- Mequon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mequon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mequon
- Mequon is located in Ozaukee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,765 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Mequon
- From Milwaukee to Mequon
- South Milwaukee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milwaukee
- South Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,673 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to South Milwaukee
- From Milwaukee to South Milwaukee
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 Milwaukee. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Milwaukee.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Milwaukee. 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 Milwaukee.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Milwaukee. Our list includes 259 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Milwaukee.
Adding Milwaukee to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
X2X - From that list, the Milwaukee post office opened in 1835.
We also found Milwaukee in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Milwaukee.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Milwaukee: www.milwaukee.gov/
The official website for Milwaukee County: www.co.milwaukee.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 Milwaukee, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Milwaukee refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Milwaukee may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Milwaukee. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Milwaukee - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Milwaukee). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Milwaukee or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Milwaukee includes: 53201, 53202, 53203, 53204, 53205, 53206, 53207, 53208, 53209, 53210, 53211, 53212, 53213, 53214, 53215, 53216, 53217, 53218, 53219, 53220, 53221, 53222, 53223, 53224, 53225, 53226, 53227, 53233, 53234, 53237, 53259, 53263, 53267, 53274, 53278, 53288, 53290, 53293 & 53295. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |