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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-PLAIN-WI · Plain, WI 776 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 Plain
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Plain on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Riceville · lowest
44,440
Riceville · lowest
44,440 median HH income
47.3% of the leader · rank #1
Carrboro · near
85,927
Carrboro · near
85,927 median HH income
91.5% of the leader · rank #2
Bella Vista · near
85,932
Bella Vista · near
85,932 median HH income
91.5% of the leader · rank #3
Plain · this city
85,938
Plain · this city
85,938 median HH income
91.6% of the leader · rank #4
Holcomb · near
85,938
Holcomb · near
85,938 median HH income
91.6% of the leader · rank #5
New London · near
85,938
New London · near
85,938 median HH income
91.6% of the leader · rank #6
Potter Lake · highest
93,864
Potter Lake · highest
93,864 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 Plain 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: 776.
Plain ranks in the 67th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
67th
percentile, household income
49th
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: Plain, WI
Wisconsin's Plain is a small town, with 776 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Plain report a median income of $85,938 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.2%. Typical homes in Plain are valued around $223,600, and the median resident age is 39.7 years. About 29.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 76.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 2 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 100% from five years earlier.
Living costs in Wisconsin run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Wisconsin at 94.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,097 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Wisconsin's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). 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 Plain'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 population change to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Plain, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history.
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
What does the journey to work look like in Plain?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.0%. 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. 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -26 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 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 downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Which cities make useful reference points for Plain?
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 Shiocton (776 residents, $56,146 income); Pepin (781 residents, $72,500 income); Eden (766 residents, $68,523 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pickensville, AL (776 residents); Rockford, AL (776 residents); Freelandville, IN (776 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.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 29.9% 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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Plain?
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 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.6×
Home value
$223,600
Household income
$85,938
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 8.2% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
C+
City profile score · Plain, WI
60/100
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.
Household income B-
$85,938
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C
29.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate D
8.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Plain profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Household income: 65/100 (B-) · $85,938
Bachelor's+ share: 58/100 (C) · 29.9%
Poverty rate: 47/100 (D) · 8.2%
How does Plain compare to other US cities?
Plain 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 value49% 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 Plain 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 Plain near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Plain ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Plain only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#179 of 753
76th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#240 of 754
68th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#238 of 761
68th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#212 of 761
72nd 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. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Plain's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$223,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 51% 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
Plain's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,515 of 15,516
More affordable than 71% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,018 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6×, Plain sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,515 of 15,516 and #4,018 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
$85,938Plain, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Plain, 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 Plain, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)29.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)76.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
776
Median Income
$85,938
Median Home Value
$223,600
Median Age
39.7
Poverty Rate
8.2%
Labor force participation
76.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
29.9%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Plain's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
743 residents
2021
735 residents
2022
732 residents
2023
728 residents
2024
725 residents
2025
717 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.4M
2020
2
2
0
$0.8M
2021
1
1
0
$0.8M
2022
1
1
0
$0.5M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
2
2
0
$1.0M
Permit volume increased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.0%
Carpool
7.6%
Public Transit
0.8%
Walk
4.9%
Work from Home
9.3%
Other
1.4%
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 Plain. 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 Plain 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 Plain sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Plain 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.