The Greater Northwoods

City in Bayfield County

Bayfield

Population
584
County
Bayfield County
Location
46.816, -90.825

Bayfield is a small city on the Lake Superior shore at the tip of the Bayfield Peninsula in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, and had a population of 584 at the 2020 Census, making it the least-populous incorporated city in the state. It is the mainland gateway to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (21 islands) and the Madeline Island ferry, and its economy is dominated by tourism, hospitality, and fruit growing (apple orchards and berry farms). Government is a mayor-council form led by Mayor Lynette Cornelius; the School District of Bayfield served about 415 students across 4 schools in 2024-2025. City-level population, income, and demographic figures are drawn from 2020 Census reporting via secondary sources and are flagged where a primary Census page could not be fetched.

The record

372 records name Bayfield

  • 199 news
  • 113 government
  • 41 events
  • 15 opinion
  • 3 obituaries
  • 1 notices

Showing the 40 most recent of 372. Every one is held, cited, and searchable in the archive.

What the records show

30 of 42 independently verified

Authoritative data

Overview

Population and demographics

  • 2020: 584 unverified via en.wikipedia.org We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
  • Density: 678.3 unverified via en.wikipedia.org We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
  • Tourism swing: ~270,000 annual visitors vs ~584 residents unverified via wisbusiness.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
  • Income flag: not found unverified via en.wikipedia.org We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
  • Race 2020: 80.1% White, 11.0% Native American unverified via en.wikipedia.org We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Government and civic

Schools

Economy and employers

  • Tourism: tourism-dominated via nps.gov
  • Impact 2025: 70.5 unverified via wisbusiness.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
  • Orchards: apple orchards and berry farms unverified via en.wikipedia.org We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Institutions and anchors

Business and commerce

Media

  • Adp: Ashland Daily Press via apg-wi.com
  • Journal: Bayfield County Journal unverified via apg-wi.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Recreation and natural assets

  • Apostle islands: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (21 islands, 12-mile mainland shoreline) via nps.gov
  • Madeline: Madeline Island ferry (~2.5 miles) via madferry.com
  • Natural assets: Lake Superior, Apostle Islands, peninsula orchards via nps.gov

Events and seasonal rhythm

  • Applefest: Bayfield Apple Festival (first weekend of October) via bayfield.org
  • Seasonal: summer-to-fall seasonal rhythm via bayfield.org
  • Applefest founded: founded ~1962 unverified via bayfield.org We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Infrastructure and access

  • Highway: WI State Highway 13 via madferry.com
  • Hub: Ashland, ~20-23 miles south via madferry.com
  • Airport: JFK Memorial (ASX) Ashland ~23 mi; Duluth International commercial unverified via madferry.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Local government

In memory, from Bayfield

All obituaries

Every figure here traces to a primary public record, linked at the fact. We gather and cite; we do not author. See something off? Tell us.

All Northwoods towns