RIB MOUNTAIN - The town of Rib Mountain is the second-happiest place in Wisconsin, according to an upstart website that believes true happiness is found in homeownership, marriage, a college degree and a job close to home.

But here's a caveat: The same website considers Antigo to be the state's laziest town, followed not far behind by Rhinelander, Wisconsin Rapids and Merrill.

And here's another: The site says six of the 10 happiest towns in Wisconsin also are among the 10 most expensive places to live. So according to Zippia, which says it "gives everybody the tools to find the career that is right for them," a high cost of living seems to be a real people-pleaser.

Zippia is just one of many online companies that seek to attract attention — and money — by creating these lists that people love to love, or to hate.

One site's "10 safest cities in Wisconsin" includes unincorporated suburban villages or townships, such as Grand Rapids outside of Wisconsin Rapids.

Here are the two latest Zippia lists that bluntly stereotype the people of a community by using selective Census data:

'10 Happiest Places in Wisconsin'

  1. Elm Grove
  2. Rib Mountain
  3. Mcfarland
  4. Waunakee
  5. Fox Point
  6. Brookfield
  7. Whitefish Bay
  8. Pewaukee
  9. Suamico
  10. Mequon

By the way, Stevens Point residents, this site says you live in one of the most miserable places in Wisconsin — ranked 126th out of 141 cities, with Milwaukee being the worst. Other not-so-happy towns in central and north central Wisconsin, according to Zippia: Marshfield (50th), Plover (73rd), Weston (75th), Wisconsin Rapids (96th),  Merrill (100th), Wausau (118th), Antigo (122nd) and Rhinelander (128th).

'10 Laziest Places in Wisconsin'

  1. Antigo
  2. Rice Lake
  3. Marinette
  4. Rhinelander
  5. Wisconsin Rapids
  6. Waupaca
  7. Chippewa Falls
  8. Prairie Du Chien
  9. Superior
  10. Merrill

Zippia's lazy list is based on Census data that show communities with the lowest average hours worked; shortest commute times (which also was one of its criteria for happiest places); fewest workers per household; highest unemployment rate; and fewest adults with a college degree.

"If you can’t bother to go college, don’t spend any time at work, and have only one person per household bringing home the bacon, your town is probably pretty lazy," according to the Zippia article.

One might say the same thing about a website that can't bother to conduct credible research; consider overall economic conditions; or to actually visit places before calling them happy or lazy.

Mark Treinen is executive editor of USA TODAY NETWORK's companies in central Wisconsin. Contact him:; on Twitter @MarkTreinen.

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