Portage, Wisconsin

Portage, Wisconsin
City
Downtown Portage
Motto:  "Where the North Begins"
Location of Portage in Columbia County, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 43°33′N 89°28′W / 43.550°N 89.467°W / 43.550; -89.467
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Columbia
Settled	1851
Area [1]
• Total	9.71 sq mi (25.14 km2)
• Land	8.91 sq mi (23.07 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2.07 km2)
Elevation [2]	794 ft (242 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	10,581
• Estimate  (2019)[4]	10,399
• Density	1,167.51/sq mi (450.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code	53901
Area code	608
FIPS code	55-64100[5]
GNIS feature ID	1571799[2]
Website	www.portagewi.gov

Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States.^[6] The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census,^[5] making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Portage was named for the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a portage between the Fox River and the Wisconsin River, which was recognized by Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet during their discovery of a route to the Mississippi River in 1673. The city's slogan is "Where the North Begins."