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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-MIDDLETON-WI · Middleton, WI 22,235 pop · income 67th 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 Middleton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Middleton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ruston · lowest
32,765
Ruston · lowest
32,765 median HH income
27.7% of the leader · rank #1
Rialto · near
85,521
Rialto · near
85,521 median HH income
72.2% of the leader · rank #2
Tillson · near
85,521
Tillson · near
85,521 median HH income
72.2% of the leader · rank #3
Southview · near
85,521
Southview · near
85,521 median HH income
72.2% of the leader · rank #4
St. Charles · near
85,522
St. Charles · near
85,522 median HH income
72.2% of the leader · rank #5
Middleton · this city
85,526
Middleton · this city
85,526 median HH income
72.2% of the leader · rank #6
Rancho San Di… · highest
118,431
Rancho San Di… · highest
118,431 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 Middleton 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: 22,235.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Middleton - the verdict
Nationally, Middleton sits in the 67th percentile for household income and the 64th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
67th
percentile, household income
82nd
percentile, home value
29th
percentile, median rent
64th
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: Middleton, WI
Middleton is a small city in Wisconsin, home to 22,235 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Middleton brings in $85,526 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.7%. Home values in Middleton run a median of $457,400, and the median resident age is 38.9 years. About 62.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 67.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 448 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 362% from five years earlier. Middleton reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 997.7 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. 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. The average commute for Middleton workers runs 16.2 minutes, with 72.0% driving alone and 19.3% 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 Middleton'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 reported crime to population change to work and mobility to housing and income 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 Middleton, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, 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.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in Middleton?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 997.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 56% 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.
Is Middleton growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,044 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 448 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Middleton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.2 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. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Middleton?
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 Watertown (22,873 residents, $68,333 income); Pleasant Prairie (21,515 residents, $103,903 income); Germantown (20,940 residents, $104,337 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Perry, GA (22,243 residents); Ruston, LA (22,224 residents); Rancho San Diego, CA (22,264 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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Middleton?
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 5.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
5.3×
Home value
$457,400
Household income
$85,526
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the education layer cover for Middleton?
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 9 public schools within the city match. 62.1% 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
6.7%
Bachelor's degree+
62.1%
Matched public schools
9
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 6.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
B-
City profile score · Middleton, WI
68/100
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 A+
62.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime B-
107 /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 B-
$85,526
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C-
6.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Middleton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 93/100 (A+) · 62.1%
Violent crime: 69/100 (B-) · 107 /100k
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Household income: 65/100 (B-) · $85,526
Poverty rate: 54/100 (C-) · 6.7%
Where Middleton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Middleton'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 - Middleton highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Middleton, WI (this city): home $457,400, crime 998/100k
Perry, GA : home $209,300, crime 1,896/100k
Ruston, LA : home $226,700, crime 3,383/100k
Evans, CO : home $326,300, crime 1,925/100k
Payson, UT : home $388,200, crime 826/100k
Sapulpa, OK : home $158,300, crime 1,578/100k
Watertown, WI : home $211,500, crime 1,238/100k
Pleasant Prairie, WI : home $336,300, crime 1,392/100k
Germantown, WI : home $356,700, crime 1,182/100k
South Milwaukee, WI : home $216,400, crime 1,457/100k
Muskego, WI : home $390,900, crime 1,544/100k
How does Middleton compare to other US cities?
Middleton measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income67% higher than other cities
Home value82% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% pricier than other cities
Safety64% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Wisconsin, Middleton ranks #106 of 202 Wisconsin cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Middleton 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 Middleton near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Middleton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Middleton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#183 of 753
76th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#20 of 754
97th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#311 of 761
59th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#22 of 761
97th 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
67th percentile nationally for median household income · 64th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Middleton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Middleton'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 Middleton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$457,40018th percentilemore affordable than 18% 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
Middleton's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,378 of 15,516
More affordable than 14% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,758 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.3×, Middleton sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,378 of 15,516 and #2,758 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$85,526Middleton, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Middleton, 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 Middleton, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)62.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)67.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
22,235
Median Income
$85,526
Median Home Value
$457,400
Median Age
38.9
Poverty Rate
6.7%
Labor force participation
67.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
62.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
997.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
107.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
890.7
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
9
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Middleton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
22,071 residents
2021
22,028 residents
2022
22,375 residents
2023
22,646 residents
2024
22,531 residents
2025
23,115 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
448
housing units authorized
Single-Family
77
detached homes
Multifamily
371
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
20.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
97
23
74
$21.5M
2020
508
30
478
$60.9M
2021
144
18
126
$32.1M
2022
407
3
404
$68.0M
2023
4
4
0
$2.1M
2024
448
77
371
$106.0M
Permit volume increased 362% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.2 minutes
Drive Alone
72.0%
Carpool
3.8%
Public Transit
1.2%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
19.3%
Other
2.2%
Based on 12,282 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 Middleton. 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 Middleton 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 Middleton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Middleton 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.