Eau Claire ( ; lit. 'clear water') is a city in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County. It is the seventh-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 69,421 at the 2020 census. As of 2026 population signs show an increase to 74,309 residents. The Eau Claire metropolitan area, known locally as the Chippewa Valley, has approximately 176,000 residents.
Eau Claire is at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers on traditional Ojibwe, Dakota, and Ho-Chunk land. The area's first permanent European American settlers arrived in 1845, and Eau Claire was incorporated as a city in 1872. The city's early growth came from its extensive logging and timber industries. After Eau Claire's lumber industry declined in the early 20th century, the city's economy diversified to encompass manufacturing and Eau Claire became an educational center with the opening of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire in 1916.
Eau Claire is known regionally for its arts and music scenes and is the home of the annual Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival. Eau Claire is also a regional commercial and business center and home to the headquarters of home improvement store chain Menards. Eau Claire is the second-fastest growing major city in Wisconsin after Madison, with 5.4% population growth between 2010 and 2020.
Etymology Eau Claire took its name from Eau Claire County. "Eau Claire" is the singular form of the original French name, "Eaux Claires", meaning "Clear Waters", for the Eau Claire River. According to local legend, the river was so named because early French explorers journeying down the rain-muddied Chippewa River, came upon the confluence with the Eau Claire River, and excitedly exclaimed the contrast: "Voici l'eau claire!" ("Here is the clear water!"). Now the city motto, this appears on the city seal.
History
The Eau Claire area was first visited by Europeans in the late 17th century. It had been occupied for thousands of years before European fur traders began settling there for trade with local Native American tribes.
The First Treaty of Prairie du Chien, signed in 1825, established the Chippewa River "half a day's march below the falls" as the boundary between the Sioux and Chippewa, and the "Clear Water River, a branch of the Chippewa" as the boundary between the Chippewa and Winnebago.
The first permanent European-American settlers arrived in 1845, and the city was officially incorporated in 1872. Extensive timber was harvested and logging was the major industry during this time; many sawmills were built as part of the lumber industry. Sawmills and other manufacturing made Eau Claire an industrial city by the late 19th century.
The city was founded near the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers as three separate settlements. The main section of downtown is on the site of the original European-American village, where Stephen McCann, in partnership with J. C. Thomas, put up three buildings in 1845. Although these structures were erected primarily to establish a claim to the land site, the McCann family moved into one of them and became the first permanent settlers.
West Eau Claire, founded in 1856, was across the river, near the site of the current county courthouse, and was incorporated in 1872. Between a mile and a half and two miles downstream, the Daniel Shaw & Co. lumber company founded Shawtown, beyond the west end of what is now the Water Street historic district. Shawtown was annexed to the city of Eau Claire by the 1930s. By the 1950s, the entire city had spread far enough to the east to adjoin Altoona.
In 1916, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire was founded, which marked the turn from a mostly lumber production based economy into one centered around manufacturing, education, and healthcare.
In 1917, Gillette Safety Tire Company built a large factory in Eau Claire along the Eau Claire River less than a mile from where the rivers meet. The factory mainly created rubber tires and tubing. It had about 1,600 workers in 1920, producing almost 500 tires and 500 rubber tubing everyday. These numbers have increased every year since it opened in 1917. In 1931, United States Rubber Company agreed to purchase Gillette, a sale not completed until 1940 owing to the Great Depression. Due to the start of World War II, the US War Department brought the facility in 1942 to use as an ammunition plant. At the height of the war effort, the plant had over 6,000 employees. Toward the end of the war, the government sold the building back to its original owners, and it was quickly converted back to manufacturing tire products. Throughout the decades after the war, the plant received multiple expansions and was renamed Uniroyal in 1967.
In 1991, Uniroyal, one of the largest factories in Eau Claire at the time, announced it would shutter the facility, ultimately causing 1,358 workers to lose their jobs. Although this factory shutdown was detrimental to Eau Claire's economy, the unemployment rate fell from 1991 to 1992. Today the complex, now named Banbury Place, is used as a small business incubator and leased to existing businesses and organizations.
In 1982, the Eau Claire Landmarks Commission and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin conducted a survey of historically and architecturally significant properties, identifying the Randall Park, Third Ward, and Emery Street Bungalow historic districts, most of which were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Geography
Eau Claire is about east of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, on the northern fringes of the Driftless Zone.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.
The city's terrain is characterized by the river valleys, with steep slopes leading from the center to the eastern and southern sections of the city. The lands into which the urban area is expanding are increasingly hilly.
There are two lakes in the city, Dells Pond and Half Moon Lake. Dells Pond is a reservoir created by a hydroelectric dam, and was formerly used as a holding pool for logs. Half Moon Lake is an oxbow lake created as part of the former course of the Chippewa River.
Climate In the Köppen climate classification, Eau Claire is classified as a humid continental climate (Dfb bordering on Dfa), usually termed as the subtype of warm, sometimes hot, summer. Its climate is due to its latitude and interior location in North America. The average annual temperature is only . The extremes exceed and −40 °F, which demonstrate the four well-defined seasons of the year. The amount of annual snowfall (47") exceeds the amount of annual rainfall (31"), the total precipitation is greater than other major cities in Wisconsin such as Milwaukee and Madison. July has an average temperature of and January an average of , where temperatures below freezing point can remain for a long duration.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Eau Claire had a population of 69,421 and a population density of . There were 29,987 housing units at an average density of , 3.7% of which were vacant; the homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.3%.
The median age was 32.8 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.8 males age 18 and over.
99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 28,864 households in Eau Claire, of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.1% were married-couple households, 22.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The 2020 census population of the city included 147 people incarcerated in adult correctional facilities and 3,556 people in student housing.
Of the 69,421 people living in the city, 67,238 were living in Eau Claire County, and 2,183 were living in Chippewa County.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 59,602 85.9% Black or African American 1,071 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native 409 0.6% Asian 3,938 5.7% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 74 0.1% Some other race 786 1.1% Two or more races 3,541 5.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,315 3.3%
2016–2020 American Community Survey
According to the American Community Survey estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household in the city was $59,705, and the median income for a family was $82,851. Male full-time workers had a median income of $48,978 versus $39,147 for female workers. The per capita income for the city was $31,510. About 4.9% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over. Of the population age 25 and over, 95.5% were high school graduates or higher and 33.9% had a bachelor's degree or higher.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 65,883 people, 26,803 households, and 14,293 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 28,134 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.4% White, 4.6% Asian, 1.1% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.9% of the population.
There were 26,803 households, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.7% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89.
The median age in the city was 29.8 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 22.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 21.7% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.
As of 2010, there were 1,981 persons within the city limits in Chippewa County and 63,902 in Eau Claire County for a total of 65,883.
Metropolitan area The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties (composite 2010 population: 161,151). Together with the Menomonie Micropolitan Statistical Area (which includes all of Dunn County) to the west, the Eau Claire metropolitan area, forms the Census Bureau's Eau Claire-Menomonie Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a consolidated 2010 population of 205,008.
Religion
The Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire was based in the city from 1928 until it reintegrated into the Diocese of Wisconsin in 2024. Christ Church Cathedral is one of three mother churches of the Diocese of Wisconsin. The city is also within the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse and is home to Sacred Heart Church and St. Patrick's Church. Additionally, Community House, First Congregational Church, First Methodist Episcopal Church and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd are in Eau Claire.
Ethnic communities