Downtown Eau Claire

Eau Claire, WI

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Downtown Eau Claire - Eau Claire, WI Area Guide

The Chippewa Valley's favorite hometown

Walkable Bicycle-Friendly Historic Riverfront University

Sitting at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers, Downtown Eau Claire rivals the natural beauty of the landscape with its historic architecture, period lighting, public artwork, and decorative brick-paved sidewalks. As you walk through downtown, it will quickly become apparent why Eau Claire is an award-winning "All America City." Downtown Eau Claire consists of mixed-use projects like Haymarket Landing, art studios and galleries, and a variety of restaurants and shops. Water Street, with its sidewalk cafes, taverns, and unique shopping that ranges from antiques to bike shops to clothing boutiques, is one of the city's favorite gathering places.

When residents want to get outdoors, Downtown Eau Claire delivers with fantastic riverside parks and the Chippewa River State Trail for walking, jogging, and bicycling. Owen Park features a historic band shell and the Owen Park Tennis Courts, along with a playground and picnic areas. Carson Park, located on a peninsula on Halfmoon Lake, is home to the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum, the Chippewa Valley Museum, and the Eau Claire Express-Stadium. Downtown Eau Claire is home to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a high-ranking public liberal arts college.

Rent Trends

As of April 2026, the average apartment rent in Downtown Eau Claire is $989 for a studio, $1,141 for one bedroom, $1,473 for two bedrooms, and $1,154 for three bedrooms. Apartment rent in Downtown Eau Claire has decreased by -1.4% in the past year.

  • Studio

  • 470 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $989/month

    Average Rent

  • 1 BR

  • 691 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,141/month

    Average Rent

  • 2 BR

  • 1,020 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,473/month

    Average Rent

  • 3 BR

  • 1,103 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,154/month

    Average Rent

Getting Around

Fairly Walkable

Walkability

50 / 100

Limited Public Transit

Transit

30 / 100

Moderately Drivable

Drivability

70 / 100

Very Bikeable

Bikeability

80 / 100

Daily Essentials

Supermarket Within a 30 Minute Walk

Groceries

30 / 100

Fair Restaurant Variety Nearby

Restaurants

50 / 100

Fair Café Variety Nearby

Cafes

50 / 100

Limited Variety of Shops Nearby

Shopping

30 / 100

Local Vibe

Vibrant Atmosphere at Times

Vibrancy

40 / 100

Fair Nightlife Variety Nearby

Nightlife

50 / 100

Not Noisy

Quiet Score

90 / 100

Points of Interest

Parks and Recreation

  • Children's Museum of Eau Claire
  • L.E. Phillips Planetarium

Military Bases

Top Apartments in Downtown Eau Claire

Houses for Rent in Downtown Eau Claire

Property Management Companies

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Methodology

† Our analysis of utilities, groceries, transportation, healthcare, home prices, and other goods and services is sourced from the Cost of Living Index, a respected benchmark published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) that provides a thorough overview of living expenses across different regions.

Rent data is provided by CoStar Group’s Market Trend reports. As the industry leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, CoStar conducts extensive research to produce and maintain a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. We combine this data with public record to provide the most up-to-date rental information available.

Consumer goods, services, and home prices are sourced from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). The data on this page is updated quarterly. It was last published in February 2026.

Demographic information comes from Neustar and combines detailed address data with U.S. Census and American Community Survey statistics to produce reliable local estimates.