Stargaze Atlas

Wisconsin dark-sky map — light pollution by town

87 towns rated · darkest: Fitchburg · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Wisconsin has 87 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Fitchburg (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores, with 3 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. It also holds 1 certified International Dark Sky Place, listed below with the nearest rated town to each. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Wisconsin · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
87

2 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Fitchburg
Genuinely dark towns
2
Certified dark-sky places
1

Certified dark-sky places in Wisconsin

One site in Wisconsin holds an International Dark Sky Place certification — awarded for actively protecting the night sky, not measured from orbit like the town ratings below. What each designation means →

Certified International Dark Sky Places in Wisconsin.
Place Designation Coordinates Nearest rated town Distance That town's sky
Newport State Park Dark Sky Park 45.235°N, 86.994°W Marinette 32 mi B7

All Wisconsin towns by darkness

Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.

Wisconsin towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Fitchburg 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.7 already the darkest nearby
Caledonia 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.8 already the darkest nearby
Mequon 5 Suburban sky 3.4 Caledonia — B4, 29 mi
Suamico 5 Suburban sky 4.6 Caledonia — B4, 125 mi
Pleasant Prairie 5 Suburban sky 6.3 Caledonia — B4, 18 mi
Salem 5 Suburban sky 6.6 Caledonia — B4, 20 mi
Franklin 5 Suburban sky 6.9 Caledonia — B4, 8 mi
Brookfield 6 Bright suburban sky 8.4 Mequon — B5, 11 mi
Richfield 6 Bright suburban sky 8.4 Mequon — B5, 9 mi
Bellevue 6 Bright suburban sky 9.7 Suamico — B5, 14 mi
Onalaska 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Fitchburg — B4, 110 mi
Muskego 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Franklin — B5, 5 mi
Oregon 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Fitchburg — B4, 5 mi
Allouez 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Suamico — B5, 11 mi
Oak Creek 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Caledonia — B4, 6 mi
Stoughton 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Fitchburg — B4, 13 mi
Hudson 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Vadnais Heights, MN — B5, 17 mi
Port Washington 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Mequon — B5, 14 mi
Whitewater 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Franklin — B5, 35 mi
Whitefish Bay 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Mequon — B5, 10 mi
Sussex 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Mequon — B5, 11 mi
Cedarburg 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Mequon — B5, 6 mi
Brown Deer 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Mequon — B5, 5 mi
Monroe 6 Bright suburban sky 20 Fitchburg — B4, 26 mi
River Falls 6 Bright suburban sky 20 Vadnais Heights, MN — B5, 26 mi
Menomonie 7 Suburban / urban transition 20 River Falls — B6, 35 mi
Plover 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Suamico — B5, 75 mi
Hartford 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Richfield — B6, 10 mi
Two Rivers 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Bellevue — B6, 27 mi
Little Chute 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Allouez — B6, 20 mi
Middleton 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Fitchburg — B4, 10 mi
Portage 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Fitchburg — B4, 40 mi
Waunakee 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Fitchburg — B4, 16 mi
North La Crosse 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Onalaska — B6, 3 mi
Oconomowoc 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Sussex — B6, 14 mi
Verona 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Fitchburg — B4, 4 mi
Chippewa Falls 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 River Falls — B6, 61 mi
Germantown 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Mequon — B5, 4 mi
Fort Atkinson 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Whitewater — B6, 9 mi
Greendale 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Franklin — B5, 4 mi
Platteville 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Monroe — B6, 44 mi
Beaver Dam 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Richfield — B6, 35 mi
Baraboo 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Fitchburg — B4, 38 mi
La Crosse 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Onalaska — B6, 6 mi
Menomonee Falls 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Mequon — B5, 5 mi
Superior 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 North Branch, MN — B6, 94 mi
Grafton 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Cedarburg — B6, 2 mi
Janesville 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Whitewater — B6, 18 mi
Marinette 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Suamico — B5, 38 mi
New Berlin 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Muskego — B6, 5 mi
Fond du Lac 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Richfield — B6, 38 mi
Glendale 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Whitefish Bay — B6, 2 mi
Waupun 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Richfield — B6, 37 mi
Burlington 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Salem — B5, 12 mi
Kaukauna 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Allouez — B6, 19 mi
Watertown 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Whitewater — B6, 25 mi
Sun Prairie 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Stoughton — B6, 18 mi
Mount Pleasant 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Caledonia — B4, 8 mi
Stevens Point 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Suamico — B5, 76 mi
Howard 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Allouez — B6, 6 mi
Wisconsin Rapids 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Onalaska — B6, 78 mi
De Pere 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Allouez — B6, 3 mi
Menasha 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Allouez — B6, 29 mi
Eau Claire 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Red Wing, MN — B6, 54 mi
Shorewood 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Whitefish Bay — B6, 2 mi
South Milwaukee 7 Suburban / urban transition 40 Oak Creek — B6, 2 mi
West Bend 8 City sky 40 Richfield — B6, 12 mi
Racine 8 City sky 40 Mount Pleasant — B7, 4 mi
Appleton 8 City sky 41 Menasha — B7, 4 mi
Wauwatosa 8 City sky 42 Brookfield — B6, 5 mi
Wausau 8 City sky 43 Stevens Point — B7, 30 mi
Cudahy 8 City sky 45 South Milwaukee — B7, 3 mi
Marshfield 8 City sky 46 Wisconsin Rapids — B7, 26 mi
Manitowoc 8 City sky 46 Two Rivers — B7, 6 mi
Neenah 8 City sky 48 Menasha — B7, 1 mi
Oshkosh 8 City sky 50 Menasha — B7, 13 mi
Greenfield 8 City sky 52 Greendale — B7, 2 mi
Waukesha 8 City sky 54 New Berlin — B7, 7 mi
Sheboygan 8 City sky 54 Port Washington — B6, 26 mi
West Allis 8 City sky 55 Greendale — B7, 5 mi
Beloit 8 City sky 56 Roscoe, IL — B6, 7 mi
Green Bay 8 City sky 65 Allouez — B6, 3 mi
Madison 8 City sky 70 Middleton — B7, 6 mi
Kenosha 8 City sky 73 Pleasant Prairie — B5, 6 mi
Ashwaubenon 8 City sky 81 De Pere — B7, 2 mi
Milwaukee 9 Inner-city sky 210 Shorewood — B7, 4 mi
Weston 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.0 already the darkest nearby

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Wisconsin?
The darkest town tracked here is Fitchburg, but the genuinely dark skies in Wisconsin are its 1 certified International Dark Sky Place — Newport State Park — listed further down with the nearest rated town to each.
How many dark-sky towns does Wisconsin have?
Of 87 towns rated here, 3 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

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