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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-ATHENS-WI · Athens, WI 1,005 pop · income 19th 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 Athens
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Athens on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Elloree · lowest
33,750
Elloree · lowest
33,750 median HH income
38.1% of the leader · rank #1
Mount Pleasant · near
49,897
Mount Pleasant · near
49,897 median HH income
56.4% of the leader · rank #2
Hill City · near
49,899
Hill City · near
49,899 median HH income
56.4% of the leader · rank #3
Athens · this city
49,904
Athens · this city
49,904 median HH income
56.4% of the leader · rank #4
Karthaus · near
49,904
Karthaus · near
49,904 median HH income
56.4% of the leader · rank #5
Heber Springs · near
49,917
Heber Springs · near
49,917 median HH income
56.4% of the leader · rank #6
Kekoskee · highest
88,500
Kekoskee · highest
88,500 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 Athens 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: 1,005.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Athens places in the 19th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
19th
percentile, household income
33rd
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: Athens, WI
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,005 residents in Athens, a small town within Wisconsin. Median household income here is $49,904 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 11.5%. Typical homes in Athens are valued around $168,100, and the median resident age is 44.2 years. Educational attainment runs 11.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 59.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 67 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 1240% from five years earlier.
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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,097 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Wisconsin run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 59.1 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Athens'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 schools and households to population change to housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Athens, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, 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 education layer cover for Athens?
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 11.4% 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.
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.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +128 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +12.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 67 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Athens?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Athens?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Chain O' Lakes (1,006 residents, $83,438 income); Belmont (996 residents, $82,000 income); Sister Bay (1,016 residents, $57,679 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Middlesex, NC (1,005 residents); McConnellsburg, PA (1,005 residents); Elloree, SC (1,005 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.
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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Athens?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
6.4%
Drive alone
74.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 471 workers age 16+.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
F
City profile score · Athens, WI
34/100
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.
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.
Poverty rate F
11.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$49,904
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Athens profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Poverty rate: 34/100 (F) · 11.5%
Household income: 20/100 (F) · $49,904
Bachelor's+ share: 10/100 (F) · 11.4%
How does Athens compare to other US cities?
Athens measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income19% higher than other cities
Home value33% 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 Athens 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 Athens near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Athens ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Athens only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#659 of 753
12th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#417 of 754
45th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#136 of 761
82nd percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#625 of 761
18th 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
19th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Athens's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$168,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 67% 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
Athens's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,429 of 15,516
More affordable than 46% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,862 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.4×, Athens sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,429 of 15,516 and #6,862 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
$49,904Athens, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Athens, 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 Athens, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,005
Median Income
$49,904
Median Home Value
$168,100
Median Age
44.2
Poverty Rate
11.5%
Labor force participation
59.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.4%
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
Athens's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,062 residents
2021
1,059 residents
2022
1,062 residents
2023
1,063 residents
2024
1,062 residents
2025
1,190 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
67
housing units authorized
Single-Family
3
detached homes
Multifamily
64
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
66.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
5
3
2
$0.8M
2020
3
3
0
$0.6M
2021
4
4
0
$0.8M
2022
5
5
0
$1.3M
2023
2
2
0
$0.5M
2024
67
3
64
$8.0M
Permit volume increased 1240% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
74.1%
Carpool
17.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
6.4%
Other
0.6%
Based on 471 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 Athens. 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 Athens 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 Athens sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Athens 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.