Phillips is a city and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Price County, Wisconsin
Price County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,054. Its county seat is Phillips.
History
Price County was created on March 3, 1879, when Wisconsin Governor William E. Smith signed legi ...
, United States. The population was 1,533 at the
2020 census.
History
The town of Phillips was platted in 1876 and named after Elijah B. Phillips, the general manager of the Wisconsin Central Railway. It began as a logging town.
In the dry summer of 1894, a devastating fire spread from the southwest and destroyed the town. The population evacuated, and 13 people died in the blaze.
The town was rebuilt and expanded in subsequent years, and a memorial to the disaster now stands on the shore of Lake Duroy.
Geography
Phillips is located at (45.691560, -90.401915).
It is on highway SR 13, 77 miles north of Marshfield, and 74 miles south of Ashland.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 1,478 people, 695 households, and 338 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 868 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.7%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 1.4%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.1% from
other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino people of any race were 1.5% of the population.
There were 695 households, of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 51.4% were non-families. 45.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.79.
The median age in the city was 44.8 years. 20.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 23.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 1,675 people, 721 households, and 395 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 605.5 people per square mile (233.5/km
2). There were 839 housing units at an average density of 303.3 per square mile (116.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.96%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.19%
Native American, 0.72%
Asian, 0.12% from
other races, and 1.01% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino people of any race were 0.36% of the population.
There were 721 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.1% were non-families. 39.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,471, and the median income for a family was $38,889. Males had a median income of $32,333 versus $24,028 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $16,480. About 7.2% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Phillips is the county seat of Price County. The current mayor is Charles Peterson.
Election results
Transportation
Airport

Phillips is served by the
Price County Airport (KPBH), located one mile northwest of the city. In 2023, the airport handled approximately 18,100 operations per year, almost 50 per day, with roughly 84% general aviation, 15% air taxi and 1% military. The airport has a 5,220 foot asphalt primary runway with approved GPS approaches (Runway 1-19) and a 3,951 foot asphalt crosswind runway (Runway 6-24), also with GPS approaches.
Bus service is provided by
Bay Area Rural Transit.
Notable people
*
Adolph Bieberstein,
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
player
*
Frank Boyle
Frank Boyle (born February 20, 1945) is an American retired Democratic politician. He served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1987 to 2009, representing the far northwest corner of the state.
Early life and education
Born i ...
, Wisconsin State Representative
*
Esther Bubley, photographer
*
Clayton Hicks
William Clayton Hicks (June 17, 1919 – June 9, 1999) was an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1949 to 1953.
Early life and education
Hicks was born on June 17, 1919, in Phillips, Wi ...
, Wisconsin State Senator
*
Willis J. Hutnik, Wisconsin State Representative
*
Felix A. Kremer, Wisconsin State Representative
*
Nathan E. Lane, Wisconsin State Representative
*
Chuck Mencel, NBA basketball player, 1955 Big Ten Conference MVP
*
John W. Slaby, Wisconsin State Representative
*
Vincent J. Zellinger, Wisconsin State Representative
Historic locations
*
Lidice Memorial
*
Phillips High School
Images
File:Phillips Wisconsin Sign WIS13.jpg, Sign on WIS13
File:Phillips Wisconsin Welcome Sign.jpg, Welcome sign
File:Phillips Wisconsin Downtown WIS13.jpg, Downtown Phillips on WIS 13
References
External links
City of PhillipsPhillips Area Chamber of Commerce* Sanborn fire insurance maps
18921893189519011909
{{authority control
Cities in Wisconsin
Cities in Price County, Wisconsin
County seats in Wisconsin