Beaver Dam, WI's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Beaver Dam in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Beaver Dam's sky is brighter than 72.7% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things.

How far Beaver Dam is from a meaningfully darker sky

Waupun, WI, about 12 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Beaver Dam. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Waupun, WI is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Beaver Dam compares nationally

Beaver Dam, WI has a population of about 16,443, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Beaver Dam places 2,318 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.