Living in Neenah, WI

Winnebago County

Neenah is a Fox Valley Lake Winnebago community sited on Doty Island, where the Fox River meets Lake Winnebago -- a real, tangible geographic identity distinct from other Fox Valley cities not directly on the lake. The city's economic story runs inseparable from Kimberly-Clark, founded here in 1872 by John A. Kimberly, Havilah Babcock, Charles B. Clark, and Franklyn C. Shattuck, who built Wisconsin's first newsprint mill; while Kimberly-Clark's headquarters has since relocated to Texas, the company still maintains significant Neenah operations alongside a genuinely diversified base of other real, named employers (Jewelers Mutual Insurance, Neenah Foundry, Plexus, Bergstrom Automotive). Neenah's home values run moderate for the Fox Valley -- Redfin's 3-month median sale price ran $294,840 in June 2026 (down 12.9% YoY, even as price-per-square-foot rose 9.2%, a real, disclosed tension likely reflecting mix-shift) -- all below Wisconsin's own $358,877 statewide median. A real, disclosed negative: Neenah's own effective property tax rate (1.60%-1.61%, depending on the Winnebago-vs-Outagamie county portion) runs above both the national and Wisconsin statewide averages, with a median annual tax bill of $4,874. On the positive side, Neenah's crime rate runs genuinely, substantially below the national average (15.34 vs. 33.37 per 1,000 residents), independently corroborated by the city's own reported 32% decline since 2017. The Neenah Joint School District serves a substantial 6,473 students, and ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah anchors the city's healthcare access directly on Doty Island. Neenah's median age (38.0) and 65-plus population share (15.7%) run genuinely below the national average, which is why this record uses best-areas rather than retiring as its ninth topic.

Explore Neenah in depth

• Moving to Neenah: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Neenah
• Housing in Neenah
• Taxes & Insurance in Neenah
• Climate in Neenah
• Schools & Families in Neenah
• Healthcare & Safety in Neenah
• Pros and Cons of Living in Neenah
• Best Areas to Live in Neenah

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits families and lake/water-access-minded buyers drawn to Neenah's genuine Doty Island/Lake Winnebago setting, its diversified employer base beyond Kimberly-Clark's historic footprint, and its genuinely below-average crime rate.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers prioritizing the lowest possible Wisconsin property tax rate, given Neenah's own disclosed 1.60%-1.61% effective rate running above both the national and Wisconsin statewide averages even against the city's moderate home values.