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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-LAKE-GENEVA-WI · Lake Geneva, WI 8,443 pop · income 54th 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 Lake Geneva
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lake Geneva on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Corbin · lowest
51,795
Corbin · lowest
51,795 median HH income
20.7% of the leader · rank #1
Sour Lake · near
73,190
Sour Lake · near
73,190 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #2
Lake Geneva · this city
73,199
Lake Geneva · this city
73,199 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #3
Knippa · near
73,212
Knippa · near
73,212 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #4
Santa Claus · near
73,214
Santa Claus · near
73,214 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #5
Kahuku · near
73,214
Kahuku · near
73,214 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #6
Villanova · highest
250,001
Villanova · 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Lake Geneva on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 8,443.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Lake Geneva - the verdict
Lake Geneva ranks in the 54th percentile for household income and the 39th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
54th
percentile, household income
68th
percentile, home value
29th
percentile, median rent
39th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Lake Geneva, WI
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 8,443 residents in Lake Geneva, a small town within Wisconsin. Households in Lake Geneva report a median income of $73,199 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.5%. Typical homes in Lake Geneva are valued around $323,000, and the median resident age is 47.2 years. Educational attainment runs 43.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 58.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 109 residential building permits were authorized in Lake Geneva (Building Boom), up 63% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Lake Geneva reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1735.5 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. The average commute for Lake Geneva workers runs 18.2 minutes, with 71.7% driving alone and 10.8% working from home. 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 Lake Geneva'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 reported crime to work and mobility to schools and households to population change to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lake Geneva, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Lake Geneva?
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Kronenwetter (8,420 residents, $107,268 income); Mukwonago (8,411 residents, $96,096 income); Delavan (8,531 residents, $71,121 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Harrison, TN (8,446 residents); Center Line, MI (8,448 residents); Hastings-on-Hudson, NY (8,449 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Lake Geneva?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1735.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 24% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
What does the journey to work look like in Lake Geneva?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 71.7%. The reported mean trip to work is 18.2 minutes.
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.
What does the education layer cover for Lake Geneva?
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 10 public schools within the city match. 43.2% 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.
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.
Population change
Is Lake Geneva growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +492 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 109 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
2020 estimate
8,326
2025 estimate
8,818
Period change
+5.9%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Lake Geneva?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
4.4×
Home value
$323,000
Household income
$73,199
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 9.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
C+
City profile score · Lake Geneva, WI
61/100
5 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.
Bachelor's+ share B+
43.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime B
102 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger 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.
Household income C-
$73,199
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate D
9.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Lake Geneva profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 78/100 (B+) · 43.2%
Violent crime: 70/100 (B) · 102 /100k
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Household income: 53/100 (C-) · $73,199
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.5%
Where Lake Geneva sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Lake Geneva's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Lake Geneva highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Lake Geneva, WI (this city): home $323,000, crime 1,736/100k
Center Line, MI : home $145,300, crime 1,916/100k
Corbin, KY : home $162,600, crime 1,275/100k
Kronenwetter, WI : home $240,700, crime 314/100k
Mukwonago, WI : home $335,900, crime 1,272/100k
Delavan, WI : home $194,500, crime 1,407/100k
Monona, WI : home $390,400, crime 3,172/100k
Rhinelander, WI : home $123,300, crime 1,816/100k
How does Lake Geneva compare to other US cities?
Lake Geneva measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income54% higher than other cities
Home value68% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% pricier than other cities
Safety39% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Wisconsin and the picture shifts: Lake Geneva ranks #161 of 202 Wisconsin cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Lake Geneva 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 Lake Geneva near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lake Geneva ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lake Geneva only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#313 of 753
58th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#87 of 754
88th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#198 of 761
74th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#80 of 761
89th 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
54th percentile nationally for median household income · 39th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Lake Geneva's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Lake Geneva's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Lake Geneva's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$323,00032nd percentilemore affordable than 32% 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
Lake Geneva's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,800 of 15,516
More affordable than 24% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,063 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.4×, Lake Geneva sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,800 of 15,516 and #9,063 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
$73,199Lake Geneva, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lake Geneva, 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 Lake Geneva, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)43.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,443
Median Income
$73,199
Median Home Value
$323,000
Median Age
47.2
Poverty Rate
9.5%
Labor force participation
58.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
43.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1735.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
102.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1633.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
10
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Lake Geneva's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,326 residents
2021
8,458 residents
2022
8,570 residents
2023
8,664 residents
2024
8,711 residents
2025
8,818 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
109
housing units authorized
Single-Family
107
detached homes
Multifamily
2
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
12.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
67
43
24
$13.4M
2020
89
89
0
$23.4M
2021
113
113
0
$27.4M
2022
89
83
6
$23.6M
2023
71
71
0
$19.7M
2024
109
107
2
$30.1M
Permit volume increased 63% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
18.2 minutes
Drive Alone
71.7%
Carpool
10.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.3%
Work from Home
10.8%
Other
2.7%
Based on 4,238 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 Lake Geneva. 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 Lake Geneva 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 Lake Geneva sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lake Geneva 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, FBI UCR, 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.