Welcome to Portage ...
The city of Portage is located in Columbia County<1> and is the County Seat for Columbia County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Portage, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Portage has a population of 10,399 people<2> (see below for details).
Portage is 810 feet [247 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Portage lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The ZIP code for Portage: 53901<4>
Websites for Portage ...
Official Website: www.ci.portage.wi.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Portage had an population of 10,399 people. This is an increase of 0.73% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 6.9% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Portage had a population of 10,324 people (which is 18.17% of the total population of Columbia County). This makes Portage the county's most populous community.
The population of Portage represents 0.18% of the total population of Wisconsin (which has 5,686,986 people), making it the state's 89th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 10,324 people, the population of Portage increased 6.13% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 9,728 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Portage.
Communities Also Named Portage ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 22 communities that are also named Portage - they are located in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana (2), Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Brunswick, New York (2), Nova Scotia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward Island, Utah and Washington (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Portage.
Communities near Portage ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Portage.
- Baraboo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
- Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
- Lodi
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Lodi is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
- Wisconsin Dells
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisconsin Dells
- Wisconsin Dells is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
- Lake Delton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Delton have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Delton
- Lake Delton is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,986 people
- Poynette
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Pardeeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pardeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
- Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
- Montello
(18 miles [29 km] to the north) - West Baraboo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Baraboo have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baraboo
- West Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
- Rio
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast) - Arlington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Arlington is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Portage. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Portage.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Portage. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portage.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Portage. Our list includes 18 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Portage.
Adding Portage to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Portage in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Portage was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Portage on a map titled Shell Oil Road Map for Wisconsin (1956).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Portage.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Portage: www.ci.portage.wi.us/
The official website for Columbia County: www.co.columbia.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Wisconsin's counties, including Columbia, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Portage. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Portage - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Portage). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Portage or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |