Avoca, Wisconsin
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Avoca Village. It lies in ZIP code area 53506. It lies near Booth Hollow. The Survey maps it on the Avoca quadrangle. 553 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 699 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresAvoca fell from 637 to 553 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 637 | |
| 2020 | 553 | -84 (-13%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1905 USGS Richland Center quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Muscoda quadrangle1:62500
- 1961 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1976 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Avoca quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Richland Center quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
141 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 141 fires within 5 miles of Avoca between 1992 and 2019, burning about 1,958 acres in total. None started naturally. 16 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 37 |
| Debris and open burning | 33 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 26 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 16 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 August 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 August 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 20 August 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 16 August 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 36 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | HAY/133 FIRE |
| 9 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | FAIRVIEW ROAD |
| 6 July 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | RINGELSTETTER |
| 31 July 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2.3 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | BIRD FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Avoca: 2 unknowns, 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haney Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| J Johnson Quarry | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Landon Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Mankey Quarry | Stone | Unknown |
Storms near this place
18 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Avoca in 18 storm reports between 2000 and 2026: 10 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2017 | Heavy Rain | Avoca | $360,000 | Washouts of mainly gravel roads and driveways in the northwest portion of the county. About 50 homes with mostly minor water damage. However, the north foundation of a home collapsed while the east and west foundations buckled due to water pressure. Water was briefly over a bridge on Sunny Road at the Dodge Branch of the Pecatonica River. The flooding also led to the loss of crops. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Avoca | $200,000 | Significant flash flooding affected the northern half of Iowa County, especially in the Avoca and Arena areas. Fast flowing water of 1 to 3 feet was reporte in those two communities and first responders built berms around Avoca. Water depths on STH 133 reached 2 to 4 feet. Sandbagging efforts in Avoca prevented major damage, however 4 homes in Avoca had water in basements. Ten roads in the Civil Town of Arena were closed. The basement of the County Sheriff buidling flooded out with a fair amount of water damage to contents. Several gravel shoulder washouts occurred and crops across the northern part of the county were damaged due to erosion. Overall, at least 20 homes sustained minor flood damage to basement contents. Additionally, a sump pump overflow occurred in the Iowa County Social Services Building in Dodgeville, resulting in minor water damage to basement contents. Rainfall amounts overnight, based on WSR-88D Doppler radar estimates, ranged from 3 to 4 inches over the southeast corner of the county to 8 to 9 inches along the Wisconsin river near Avoca. Unofficially there were reports of 10 inch amounts near Avoca. | |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | $100,000 | Powerful thunderstorm wind gusts to 65 knots (75 mph) toppled many trees and damaged several power-lines. |
| July 2009 | Flash Flood | Avoca | $75,000 | Heavy rains from severe thunderstorms produced flash flooding that washed out the shoulders of several roads and driveways, causing $75,000 of damage. The AWOS unit at the Mineral Point Airport recorded 1.21 inches of rain between 1830 and 1900 CST. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | $60,000 | Trained spotters reported several homes with roof damage and several outbuildings on farms damaged by powerful thunderstorm wind gusts that were estimated at 80 mph (70 knots). The damaging winds also downed many trees and power lines along the path that extended from 4 miles southwest of Avoca to Avoca. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | $50,000 | Trees and power lines reported down countywide. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | $12,000 | The Iowa County Emergency Manager reported numerous trees and power lines blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 64 mph (56 knots). |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | $5,000 | Several trees down throughout the county. |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | $4,000 | Law enforcement officials reported trees were blown down by damaging thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 56 knots (65 mph) 4 miles south-southwest of Avoca. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | - | Law enforcement reported trees were blown down by severe thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 56 knots (64 mph). |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | - | Law enforcement officials reported trees and power lines blown down along a swath from 5 miles west southwest of Avoca to Avoca by damaging thunderstorm wind gusts estimated up to 65 knots (70 mph). |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | - | A NWS storm survey team found a few uprooted trees and other minor tree damage produced by damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avoca | - | Powerful thunderstorm winds toppled large trees. |
| August 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Avoca | - | This tornado briefly spun up and dissipated at 1555CST about 2.5 miles east-northeast of Avoca, or about 0.6 mile west-northwest of the intersection of STH 130 and Leaches Crossing Road. Only some tree damage was noted on a storm survey. This tornado was rated a F0 with estimated wind speeds of 35-63 knots (40-72 mph). |
| July 2009 | Funnel Cloud | Avoca | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Avoca | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Avoca | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Flood | Avoca | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Avoca | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3301393 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1561035. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.







