Wisconsin
Buying Land in Price County, Wisconsin
Price County, seat Phillips, is heavily forested north-central Wisconsin -- roughly three-quarters woodland, with a large public and Managed-Forest-Law-enrolled private timber base, and an outsized hunting and ATV/UTV recreation economy built around it. Zoning here follows the county pattern almost everywhere except a documented five-town exception outside the shoreland band, and the county's declining, aging population is worth understanding before evaluating the local land market.
Zoning: county-administered, with a confirmed five-town exception outside shoreland
Price County's Zoning & Land Conservation Department (Price County Normal/Annex Building, 104 S. Eyder Ave., Room 205, Phillips, WI 54555; (715) 339-3272) administers the county's Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, which the county's own zoning page describes as covering all unincorporated areas of the county EXCEPT the non-shoreland areas of the Towns of Kennan, Catawba, Georgetown, Ogema, and Hill. For zoning questions in the non-shoreland areas of those five towns, the county directs property owners to their Town Chairman instead.
This means all 17 of the county's towns remain covered by the county for shoreland zoning purposes (within 1,000 feet of a lake or flowage and 300 feet of a river, creek, or stream, implementing the statewide NR 115 program) regardless of which general-zoning arrangement applies -- but for ordinary, non-waterfront general zoning, five specific towns are the county's documented exception. Confirm which category a specific parcel falls into directly with the county before assuming the standard countywide zoning map governs it.
A heavily forested county built around timber, hunting, and ATV recreation
Price County is roughly 77% forested, among the more heavily wooded counties in Wisconsin, with a large forest base split across public and enrolled-private ownership: the county-owned Price County Forest (roughly 90,000 acres), state-owned forest land (roughly 28,500 acres), the Chequamegon National Forest (accounting for over 151,000 acres within the county), and more than 128,000 acres of privately-owned land enrolled in Wisconsin's Managed Forest Law or Forest Crop programs. That combined public-and-enrolled-private base underpins a genuinely large hunting and outdoor-recreation economy: more than 300,000 acres of forested public land across the county are open to hunting, and the county maintains roughly 450 miles of funded ATV/UTV trail routes across four connected trail systems, including 62 miles of the Tuscobia State Trail and the 70-mile Flambeau Trail System.
Park Falls, the county's second city, specifically brands itself the 'Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World,' and the county maintains a dedicated Grouse Management Area of roughly 25,400 acres with its own network of roads, ATV/UTV access, and walking trails for hunters. See our dedicated hunting-land page for what this means for anyone evaluating recreational forest acreage here, including the practical interaction between MFL enrollment and hunting access.
History, culture, and a declining population to factor into the market
Price County was created in 1879 from portions of Chippewa and Lincoln Counties during Wisconsin's northern logging boom, and takes its name from William T. Price, a lumber baron and U.S. Congressman whose own timber holdings benefited from the region's opening to logging. That logging-era legacy is visible today in the Wisconsin Concrete Park near Phillips -- more than 230 concrete folk-art sculptures created by retired lumberjack and homesteader Fred Smith beginning in 1948, now a Price County park and National Register of Historic Places listing, preserved by the nonprofit Friends of Fred Smith with support from the Kohler Foundation.
Alongside that legacy, Price County's population has been declining and aging: the county lost roughly 300 residents between 2020 and 2024 (from 14,374 to 14,077), its median age of about 52 runs roughly 12 years above the statewide average, and state demographic projections list it among the Wisconsin counties expected to see one of the largest percentage population declines by 2050. This doesn't mean the local land market is inactive -- recreational and forestland demand remains real -- but it's a different backdrop from a growing exurban county, and worth weighing depending on whether your purpose is long-term appreciation, retirement, or recreational use.
Septic, GIS, records, and other departments to know
POWTS (septic) sanitary permits and site evaluations run through Price County Zoning & Land Conservation under the statewide SPS 383 standard, the same office that handles zoning and shoreland review. The Register of Deeds and Real Property Lister (both at 126 Cherry St., Room 108, Phillips, WI 54555; (715) 339-2515 and (715) 339-2559 respectively) hold recorded deeds, easements, plats, and property tax-roll records; the Treasurer ((715) 339-2615) handles property tax payment; and the County Clerk (126 Cherry St.; (715) 339-3325) handles general county records.
The Price County Forestry & Parks Department (104 S. Eyder Ave.) manages the county forest and the Wisconsin Concrete Park, and is a useful additional contact for county-forest, MFL-adjacent, and public-hunting-access questions specific to a forested parcel.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Price County
Direct WebFetch access to co.price.wi.us and ecode360.com was blocked by a network egress restriction throughout this research pass, so department details reflect search-indexed content rather than a full verbatim read of current staff directories -- confirm current staff, hours, fees, and a specific town's zoning status before relying on this page for a specific parcel. This research pass could not confirm a direct phone line for the Price County Highway Department or the UW-Madison Division of Extension Price County office and omits those contacts rather than guess at a number.
Planning & Zoning
Price County Zoning & Land Conservation Department
Zoning district lookups, confirming whether a specific town's non-shoreland area is county- or town-zoned, rezoning, conditional-use permits, and variances.
Building & Permitting
Price County Zoning & Land Conservation Department
Land-use and building permit applications; for the Towns of Kennan, Catawba, Georgetown, Ogema, and Hill outside the shoreland band, contact the town chairman instead.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Price County Zoning & Land Conservation Department
POWTS (septic) sanitary permits and soil evaluations under statewide SPS 383 standards.
Wells / Private Water
Wisconsin DNR -- Wells Program
Private well construction rules (NR 812) and certified well-driller lookups statewide, including Price County.
Floodplain / Stormwater
Price County Zoning & Land Conservation Department
Shoreland Ordinance and floodplain questions under statewide NR 115 standards.
GIS / Parcel Records
Price County Real Property Lister
Parcel and GIS/mapping records, property tax-roll information.
Assessor / Property Tax
Price County Treasurer
Property tax payment and records.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Price County Register of Deeds
Recorded deed, easement, and plat history for a specific parcel.
Other
Price County Forestry & Parks Department
County forest management, Managed Forest Law-adjacent questions, and public hunting access on county forest land.
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Get local guidanceTopics Specific to Price County
Sources
- Zoning & Land Conservation — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Chapter 530: Zoning — Price County, Wisconsin Government (eCode360) (accessed 2026-09)
- Zoning Districts — Price County, Wisconsin Government (eCode360) (accessed 2026-09)
- Shoreland Regulations — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Price County, Wisconsin — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- History — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Price County Forest Regeneration 2021 County Deer Advisory Report (77% forested) — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (accessed 2026-09)
- Chapter 300, Description of Forest and Management Planning — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- ATV & UTV Trails — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Hunting on Price County Forest Land — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Autumn Wings: Fall Grouse Hunting in Price County Wisconsin — Enjoy Price County (accessed 2026-09)
- Wisconsin Concrete Park — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- Facilities -- Wisconsin Concrete Park — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Is Price County, WI's population growing or shrinking? — USAFacts (accessed 2026-09)
- 60 New Housing Units Coming to Price County Amidst Projected Population Decline — NewsBreak / My Northern Wisconsin (accessed 2026-09)
- Register of Deeds — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Real Property Lister — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- County Treasurer — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Forestry & Parks Department — Price County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09