Shawano is located in Shawano County (of which it is the county seat) between Green Bay and Wausau along Highway 29 on the banks of the Wolf River near Keshena, Gillett, Clintonville, the Menominee Indian Reservation, and the Stockbridge Indian Reservation. The population estimate for July 1, 1998 was 7,846, an increase of 248 since 1990.