Polish Population in Rock County, WI by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Polish population in Rock County, WI is officially recorded at 6,029, with all of the county''s incorporated cities reporting residents of Polish ancestry. Among them, Janesville (2,481), Beloit (916), and Evansville (464) account for the largest shares. Interestingly, when adding up individual city estimates, the total surpasses the county-level figure - a difference that often arises from how city and county statistics are modeled separately. Below, we explore how Polish communities are distributed across Wisconsin''s more urbanized and fragmented counties.

Top 5 cities with the largest Polish population in Rock County

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  • 1
    Janesville
    Polish population in Janesville is 2,481
    3.77% of Janesville population is Polish
  • 2
    Beloit
    Polish population in Beloit is 916
    2.51% of Beloit population is Polish
  • 3
    Evansville
    Polish population in Evansville is 464
    8.04% of Evansville population is Polish
  • 4
    Edgerton
    Polish population in Edgerton is 345
    5.82% of Edgerton population is Polish
  • 5
    Beloit town
    Polish population in Beloit town is 317
    4.09% of Beloit town population is Polish

Overview of Polish population in Rock County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Rock County contains 6,029 Polish residents (3.7% of 163,944 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 90th percentile nationally among counties and 76th percentile within Wisconsin for Polish demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents Rock County's Polish demographic representation of 3.7%, exceeding the national average of 2.6% while remaining below Wisconsin's elevated state average of 7.8%, placing the county above national concentration levels while below state demographic averages.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey show Rock County's 6,029 Polish residents constitute 1.3% of Wisconsin's total Polish population of 462,215.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicates Rock County's density of 8.4 Polish Americans per square mile corresponds to Wisconsin's state average, aligning the county with state demographic distribution patterns.
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28 Cities in Rock County Ranked by Polish Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm Polish populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Janesville, Beloit, Evansville, and Edgerton. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 28 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Rock County, WI ranked by Polish population count
Rank by Polish Population
City
Polish Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Rock County Polish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Janesville 2,481 3.77% 41.15%
2 Beloit 916 2.51% 15.19%
3 Evansville 464 8.04% 7.70%
4 Edgerton 345 5.82% 5.72%
5 Beloit town 317 4.09% 5.26%
6 Milton 313 5.51% 5.19%
7 Union town 140 6.35% 2.32%
8 127 5.03% 2.11%
9 117 4.57% 1.94%
10 113 3.80% 1.87%
11 79 2.56% 1.31%
12 75 5.41% 1.24%
13 74 4.72% 1.23%
14 65 7.18% 1.08%
15 64 3.15% 1.06%
16 49 1.33% 0.81%
17 38 5.62% 0.63%
18 37 4.15% 0.61%
18 37 1.03% 0.61%
19 35 4.74% 0.58%
20 26 2.35% 0.43%
20 26 2.51% 0.43%
21 24 2.74% 0.40%
22 23 2.15% 0.38%
23 19 2.05% 0.32%
24 18 1.35% 0.30%
25 17 2.49% 0.28%
26 11 1.63% 0.18%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Rock County, WI by their Polish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Polish population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Polish ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Polish alone, while others identify as Polish along with another race (such as Polish and German).
  • We’ve used the “Polish alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Polish population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Polish alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Polish .
  2. % of Total Rock County Polish Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Polish population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Polish populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Polish population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Polish populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.