# Sauk County, Wisconsin: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Baraboo, Reedsburg and Prairie du Sac

Sauk County is one of the places pushing back on the data center build-out. Sauk County is home to Baraboo, Reedsburg, Prairie du Sac and Lake Delton. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers for a stated term”. Construction employs 2,094, up 10.3% since 2019. Its power plants have 33 MW of capacity, 100% of it hydro. Employers here counted 36,443 jobs in 2025, down 1.8% from 2019.

33 MW
of operating power plants, mostly hydro

-1.8%
total jobs since 2019, now 36,443

16.89¢
per kWh for Wisconsin Power & Light Co residential customers, 2024

## Cities and towns in Sauk County

Sauk County is home to Baraboo, Reedsburg, Prairie du Sac and Lake Delton.

Baraboo13,224 residents
Reedsburg10,641 residents
Prairie du Sac4,316 residents
Lake Delton3,451 residents
Sauk City3,439 residents
Delton2,441 residents
Dellona1,912 residents
Excelsior1,616 residents
West Baraboo1,572 residents
Spring Green1,567 residents
Fairfield1,046 residents
Sumpter1,030 residents
Washington1,028 residents
Winfield882 residents
Greenfield881 residents
Woodland865 residents
Troy766 residents
Honey Creek722 residents
Plain717 residents
Franklin652 residents
Bear Creek630 residents
Wisconsin Dells582 residents · 18% of the city
Westfield573 residents
North Freedom572 residents

And 7 smaller places.
- Wisconsin Dells also extends into [Columbia County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/columbia-county), [Adams County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/adams-county).

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Bluffview, Lake Wisconsin.

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Sauk County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 65,796 | 66,652 | ▲ 1.3% | 25th of 72 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 37,101 | 36,443 | ▼ 1.8% | 46th of 72 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $40,469 | $52,402 | ▲ 29.5% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,898 | 2,094 | ▲ 10.3% | 42nd of 61 by growth |
| Power line construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 31 | 17 | ▼ 45.2% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.8% | 2.8% | ● 0.0pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

Wisconsin Power & Light Co is the largest utility serving Sauk County, one of 9 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 16.89¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.25¢ median for Wisconsin utilities. Unemployment was 2.8% in August 2026, against 2.8% in 2019. 66,652 people live here, up 1.3% since 2020.

## Who powers Sauk County

### Utilities with service territory in Sauk County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 437,211 | 16.89¢ | 22% |
| Adams-Columbia Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 35,910 | 17.63¢ | 16% |
| Oakdale Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 17,027 | 15.87¢ | 14% |
| Reedsburg Utility Comm | Municipal | Bundled | 4,833 | 12.08¢ | 29% |
| Village of Prairie Du Sac - (WI) | Municipal | Bundled | 1,921 | 11.32¢ | 46% |
| Richland Electric Coop | — | — | — | — | — |
| Village of Sauk City - (WI) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vernon Electric Coop | — | — | — | — | — |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

### Operating power plants 

| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hydro | 33 MW | 100% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Du Sac | Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Hydro | 33 MW | 1915 |

## The Sauk County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 36,443 | $52,402 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 2,094 | $78,393 | 1.08 |
| Power and communication line construction | 17 | $60,136 | 0.29 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Sauk County

### Local measures 

| Measure | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|
| County moratorium on data centers for a stated term | In force | 2026-09 |

## Sauk County and its neighbors

Of the 6 counties that border Sauk County, Dane County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk County | 66,652 | ▼ 1.8% | 33 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Columbia County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/columbia-county) | 58,132 | ▼ 4.2% | 1,300 MW | 500 MW | — | — |
| Dane County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/dane-county) | 590,375 | ▲ 4.9% | 1,172 MW | 361 MW | 9 | 2 |
| Iowa County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/iowa-county) | 23,951 | ▲ 3.4% | 330 MW | — | — | — |
| Juneau County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/juneau-county) | 26,649 | ▼ 2.3% | 45 MW | 230 MW | — | — |
| Richland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/richland-county) | 17,036 | ▲ 0.2% | 56 MW | — | — | — |
| Vernon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/vernon-county) | 31,443 | ▼ 1.4% | 5 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Wisconsin

[All Wisconsin countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin)[Dane County590,375 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/dane-county)[Columbia County58,132 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/columbia-county)[Vernon County31,443 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/vernon-county)[Juneau County26,649 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/juneau-county)[Iowa County23,951 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/iowa-county)

## Sauk County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Sauk County, Wisconsin?

9 utilities have service territory in Sauk County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Wisconsin Power & Light Co, Adams-Columbia Electric Coop, Oakdale Electric Coop, Reedsburg Utility Comm. The largest, Wisconsin Power & Light Co, charged residential customers 16.89¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What county is Baraboo, WI in?

Baraboo is in Sauk County, Wisconsin. About 13,224 people live there (2025 Census estimate).

### What county is Reedsburg, WI in?

Reedsburg is in Sauk County, Wisconsin. About 10,641 people live there (2025 Census estimate).

### What power plants are in Sauk County?

1 operating plant with 33 MW of capacity. The largest is Prairie Du Sac (33 MW, hydro).

### Are there data centers in Sauk County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Sauk County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Dane County.

### Is Sauk County adding jobs?

Employers counted 36,443 jobs in 2025 against 37,101 in 2019 (-1.8%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 1,898 to 2,094.

### Does Sauk County have a data center moratorium?

The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Sauk County, 1 in force.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/sauk-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).