Platteville is the largest city in Grant County, Wisconsin. The population was 11,836 at the 2020 census, up from 11,224 at the 2010 census. Much of this growth is likely due to the enrollment increase of the University of Wisconsin–Platteville. It is the principal city of the Platteville Micropolitan Statistical area, which has an estimated population of 51,938. Platteville is located atop the greater Platte River valley in the southern Driftless Region of Wisconsin, an area known for its karst topography and rolling hills.

Grant County is the most southwestern county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,938. Its county seat is Lancaster and its largest city is Platteville. The county is named after the Grant River, in turn named after a fur trader who lived in the area when Wisconsin was a territory. Grant County comprises the Platteville Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is in the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, and is crossed by travelers commuting to Madison, Wisconsin, from a number of eastern Iowan cities, and by residents of northern Illinois traveling to the Twin Cities or La Crosse, Wisconsin.