Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetWI-AMHERST-WI · Amherst, WI 1,033 pop · income 30th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Amherst
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Amherst on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Crivitz · lowest
53,846
Crivitz · lowest
53,846 median HH income
21.5% of the leader · rank #1
South Paris · near
56,823
South Paris · near
56,823 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #2
Amherst · this city
56,833
Amherst · this city
56,833 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #3
Wolsey · near
56,833
Wolsey · near
56,833 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #4
Carlsbad · near
56,833
Carlsbad · near
56,833 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #5
Timberville · near
56,837
Timberville · near
56,837 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #6
Old Field · highest
250,001
Old Field · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Amherst on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,033.
Nationally, Amherst sits in the 30th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
30th
percentile, household income
48th
percentile, home value
29th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Amherst, WI
Amherst is a small town in Wisconsin, home to 1,033 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Amherst report a median income of $56,833 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 1.9%. Amherst's housing stock carries a median value of $218,000, and the median resident age is 44.5 years. 27.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 64.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Amherst (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Wisconsin run below the national norm: the state registers 94.1 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,097 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Wisconsin, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Amherst's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to housing and income to population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Amherst, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Amherst?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
How far does income reach against housing in Amherst?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +7 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Which cities make useful reference points for Amherst?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Dresser (1,037 residents, $78,906 income); Dane (1,039 residents, $110,769 income); Crivitz (1,026 residents, $53,846 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Oppelo, AR (1,033 residents); Avalon, FL (1,033 residents); Mexico Beach, FL (1,033 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Amherst?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 27.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
1.9%
Bachelor's degree+
27.8%
Matched public schools
4
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
C
City profile score · Amherst, WI
58/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A
1.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living B-
94.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$56,833
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Amherst profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 86/100 (A) · 1.9%
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 54/100 (C-) · 27.8%
Household income: 30/100 (F) · $56,833
How does Amherst compare to other US cities?
Here's how Amherst stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income30% higher than other cities
Home value48% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Amherst against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Wisconsin only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Wisconsin-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Amherst near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Amherst ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Amherst only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#571 of 753
24th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#256 of 754
66th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#591 of 761
21st percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#242 of 761
68th percentile in Wisconsin
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Wisconsin only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
30th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Amherst's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$218,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 52% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Amherst's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,189 of 15,516
More affordable than 34% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,040 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.8×, Amherst sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,189 of 15,516 and #8,040 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$56,833Amherst, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Amherst, WI median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Amherst, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,033
Median Income
$56,833
Median Home Value
$218,000
Median Age
44.5
Poverty Rate
1.9%
Labor force participation
64.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.8%
Schools
Total Schools
4
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Amherst's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,112 residents
2021
1,115 residents
2022
1,113 residents
2023
1,122 residents
2024
1,127 residents
2025
1,119 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
21
11
10
$2.0M
2020
5
3
2
$1.3M
2021
1
1
0
$0.2M
2022
5
5
0
$1.8M
2023
4
4
0
$1.5M
2024
0
0
0
-
Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.9%
Carpool
2.4%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
2.1%
Work from Home
16.3%
Other
1.7%
Based on 533 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Wisconsin statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Wisconsin at $225 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Wisconsin statewide averages, not a meter reading for Amherst. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Wisconsin's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.1 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Amherst is $1,097/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Wisconsin statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Wisconsin statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Amherst sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Amherst compares to similar-size Wisconsin cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.