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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-DE-SOTO-WI · De Soto, WI 497 pop · income 70th 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 De Soto
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest De Soto on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Bradley · lowest
30,732
Bradley · lowest
30,732 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #1
Carnuel · near
89,432
Carnuel · near
89,432 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
Emerald Isle · near
89,432
Emerald Isle · near
89,432 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
De Soto · this city
89,440
De Soto · this city
89,440 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Kapaa · near
89,440
Kapaa · near
89,440 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Fresno · near
89,442
Fresno · near
89,442 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
Blanchard · highest
89,472
Blanchard · highest
89,472 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 De Soto 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: 497.
Nationally, De Soto sits in the 70th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
70th
percentile, household income
16th
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: De Soto, WI
Wisconsin's De Soto is a small town, with 497 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. De Soto households earn a median of $89,440 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 1.6%. De Soto's housing stock carries a median value of $117,600, and the median resident age is 57.2 years. 9.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 45.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 0 residential units were authorized in 2024 (No Permits).
Living costs in Wisconsin run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Wisconsin scores 94.1 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,097 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Wisconsin, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 De Soto'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 comparison shortlist to housing and income to work and mobility to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For De Soto, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for De Soto?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Lohrville (494 residents, $62,000 income); Oxford (500 residents, $52,500 income); Rudolph (493 residents, $61,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bellefonte, AR (497 residents); Bradley, AR (497 residents); Leola, AR (497 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.
How far does income reach against housing in De Soto?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.6%, 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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
What does the journey to work look like in De Soto?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 88.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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 +17 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.6% 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.
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 De Soto?
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 9.2% 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.
Matched public schools
4
Bachelor's degree+
9.2%
Poverty estimate
1.6%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
C+
City profile score · De Soto, WI
62/100
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
1.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B-
$89,440
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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 F
9.2%
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).
De Soto profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 89/100 (A) · 1.6%
Household income: 69/100 (B-) · $89,440
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 4/100 (F) · 9.2%
How does De Soto compare to other US cities?
Here's how De Soto stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income70% higher than other cities
Home value16% 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 De Soto 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 De Soto near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, De Soto ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares De Soto only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#138 of 753
82nd percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#638 of 754
15th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#618 of 761
18th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#665 of 761
12th 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
70th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How De Soto's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$117,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 84% 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
De Soto's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#186 of 15,516
More affordable than 99% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#183 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.3×, De Soto sits in the affordable band:
national rank #186 of 15,516 and #183 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$89,440De Soto, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context De Soto, 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 De Soto, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)9.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
497
Median Income
$89,440
Median Home Value
$117,600
Median Age
57.2
Poverty Rate
1.6%
Labor force participation
45.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
9.2%
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
De Soto's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
306 residents
2021
315 residents
2022
315 residents
2023
320 residents
2024
321 residents
2025
323 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
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
3
3
0
$0.4M
2022
1
1
0
$0.3M
2023
1
1
0
$0.3M
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
88.6%
Carpool
1.4%
Public Transit
1.4%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
4.3%
Other
2.9%
Based on 210 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 De Soto. 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 De Soto 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 De Soto sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How De Soto 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.