[4] It is a principal city of the Marshfield–Wisconsin Rapids micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Wood County and had a population of 74,207 in 2020.

[7] The Menominee claimed the big rapids in the forest prior to European settlement, with Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk lands nearby.

The U.S. negotiators pressed the Menominee for this strip before the surrounding lands because it held prime pine timber and was within easy reach of the river.

"[12]: 32 The first house in Rapids was a small log cabin built by H. McCutcheon, a cook for Strong and Bloomer's mill.

He described a community of "130 males and 17 females," with businesses along a slough crossed by a temporary slab bridge, frame homes and log houses and barns, picturesque pine trees, a sawmill with two up-and-down saws, boarding houses and saloons for the workers at the mills, and a stopping place for loggers headed upstream.

In the 6-mile strip along the river, lumberjacks working from winter logging camps felled the prized pine trees.

During spring floods the logs were driven downstream,[9]: 47-48  and, if all went well, captured in booms of the sawmills at Grand Rapids.

[13] Some of the boards went into drying piles for local use, but the majority were destined for distant markets like Portage, Dubuque, and St. Louis.

Before today's placid, flat reservoir, the river surged through a series of rapids a mile long, and rafts had to run when the water was high.

[14] In 1848 another treaty with Indians opened most of northern Wisconsin to loggers and settlers, which allowed access to much more timber outside the three-mile strip along the river.

[9]: 132–133  Growth slowed during the American Civil War, when some of the workers left to fight in the Union Army.

The Port Edwards, Centralia & Northern was built by local interests in 1890, and the Chicago & Northwestern line to Marshfield in 1901.

[9]: 52 In June of 1880 an unusually high flood of the river forced many businesses to evacuate their stock to higher ground, and in some cases tie buildings down with ropes.

Around 1880, the big ones were Robb's machine shops, Mackinnon & Griffith's hub and spoke factory, Wharton Brothers' planing mill, Haertel's chair factory, Bremmer's machine shop and foundry, a flouring mill, Moore's wagon works, and Lyon Bros. shingle works.

The founders both died shortly after, leaving Witter's son-in-law George Mead to manage the new enterprise.

The main plant began with 14 pulp-grinders and two papermaking machines, producing 50 tons of paper per day.

[9]: 153–155 Other diversification of the industrial base away from lumber occurred from 1880 to 1920, including the Grand Rapids Brick Company, the Grand Rapids Foundry Co., Wisconsin Ice Machine Co., Prentiss-Wabers Stove Co., Oberback Brothers furniture company, Badger Box & Lumber, Grand Rapids Brewing, Samson Canning, Citizens Factory Company (a pickling co-op), Blommer Ice Cream, and Chambers Creamery.

At this time that meant a hook-and-ladder, a chemical fire suppression apparatus, and a steam pumping engine.

A municipal pool was built in 1913, pushed by John Arpin in response to regular drownings of swimmers in the river.

Consolidated also began producing coated papers more efficiently, with their output used to print Life Magazine.

Back in Rapids, people grew victory gardens, collected scrap metal for the war effort, and rationed coffee and petroleum.

Consolidated adapted to manufacture plastic aircraft materials, and Harvard Clothing made coats for the army.

[21] But after those glory years, paper use dropped as TV and computer screens replaced magazines and newspapers.

Starting in 2000, Consolidated was bought and then sold by outside companies that eventually filed for bankruptcy, leading to closure of the mill in Rapids in 2020.

Wisconsin Rapids is the corporate home of the international educational software company, Renaissance Learning.

[31] From its founding in 1894, Wisconsin Rapids was home to the corporate headquarters of Consolidated Papers, Inc, which was acquired by the Finnish company Stora Enso in early-2000.

In June 2020, Verso announced the closing of their paper mill for at least two months, with the resulting loss of 900 jobs.

The Alexander House is a museum to the history of the Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company (NEPCO) and also hosts art exhibitions.

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a collegiate summer baseball team formed in 2010 who are a member of the Northwoods League.

Radio stations based in Wisconsin Rapids include: The South Wood County Airport (IATA: ISW, ICAO: KISW, FAA LID: ISW), also known as Alexander Field, is a public use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) south of the central business district of Wisconsin Rapids.