The exurb of Lisbon offers quiet living beyond the Milwaukee suburbs
About 25 miles outside Milwaukee, the village of Lisbon offers highly rated schools in a semi-rural alternative to the city’s denser suburbs. “Lisbon is at the northern end of Lake Country. It’s not necessarily lake properties, but rather country settings with more acreage for their homes,” says the JJ Hausmann Team, which has sold dozens of properties in the region. Lisbon wraps around the village of Sussex, where locals go to eat, shop and ski. Nearly 10,500 people live in the exurb, which was originally founded in the 1830s as a dairy farming village. These days, the Lisbon economy focuses on stone, asphalt and concrete production and quarrying. The nearby highway makes jobs in Milwaukee and Waukesha accessible as well.
Lisbon's small subdivisions feature diverse housing styles and prices
Miles of countryside separate small subdivisions and the occasional family farm. Subdivisions in Lisbon tend to offer a mixture of ranch-style and multistory homes. Communities like Thousand Oaks consist of winding side streets flanked by vast front yards and houses built as early as the 1920s and as recently as 2024. Single-level homes built from the 1920s to the 1990s have sold for $200,000 to $650,000, while properties built in the 2000s sell for $430,000 to $990,000. Larger homes can sell for $750,000 to $1,470,000. Manufactured homes pop up in Willow Springs, though they're rarely for sale. The area has a CAP Index Crime Score of 1 out of 10 compared to the national average of 4.
Skiing, scuba diving and soccer are just a few of Lisbon's outdoor activities
Lisbon Oaks Park’s expansive fields include a baseball diamond, a basketball court, a soccer pitch and space for other field sports. In addition to a playground, Lisbon Community Park offers access to the Bugline Trail, which runs along 16 miles of former railroad. However, according to the JJ Hausmann Team, “Most people go into Sussex or surrounding areas like North Lake for outdoor recreation,” The Bugline trailhead is in nearby Menomonee Park, where visitors can camp in thick forest, take their pets to the dog park, even swim and scuba dive in the former Lannon Quarry. “In Lisbon, you’re actually close to the ski hill in Sussex,” the JJ Hausmann Team says. Ausblick, the private ski club, has been a community gathering point since 1950, and many of its 400 family memberships are multigenerational. Local golf courses open to the public include the Fairways of Woodside, which offers an 18-hole course, and Ironwood, which has three nine-hole courses.
Sussex's small businesses feed and supply the Lisbon community
Lisbon wraps around the village of Sussex, where locals go to eat and shop. Piggly Wiggly serves as the local supermarket, and it shares Main Street with a handful of diverse restaurants. Tony Maronni’s is the quintessential mom-and-pop pizzeria, immersing its customers in southern Italy through colorful landscape paintings, checkered tablecloths and flooring and its offering of Sicilian, New York and even Ancient Roman-style pizzas. The GOAT Bar & Grill, the local sports bar, is decked out with Packers merch and photos of pop culture icons from Dolly Parton to the Rat Pack. Though there may only be less than 50 remaining duckpin bowling alleys in the United States, Thirsty Duck is one of them, doubling as a venue for mini-bowling and for pub food. Visitors can take advantage of $1 wings on Wednesdays and frequent happy hour specials as they bowl on one of the Thirsty Duck’s 18 lanes.
A-rated education at the Hamilton School District
Most Lisbon students start at Maple Avenue Elementary School before attending Templeton Middle School and Hamilton High School. Each school receives an A rating from Niche. Hamilton High offers fine arts and athletic centers, plus technical classes for college credit.
Easy access to highways and healthcare
Wisconsin Highway 164 connects Lisbon to Waukesha, 13 miles south, and to Interstate 94, with a 25-mile drive to Milwaukee. Lisbon is surrounded by health care options, including Froedtert hospitals in Pewaukee and Menomonee Falls, each about 7 miles away.
Written By
Jacob Adelhoch
