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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-READSTOWN-WI · Readstown, WI 380 pop · income 3rd 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 Readstown
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Readstown on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Dovesville · lowest
32,072
Dovesville · lowest
32,072 median HH income
32.6% of the leader · rank #1
Readstown · this city
32,083
Readstown · this city
32,083 median HH income
32.7% of the leader · rank #2
Silver Cliff · near
32,083
Silver Cliff · near
32,083 median HH income
32.7% of the leader · rank #3
Erskine · near
32,083
Erskine · near
32,083 median HH income
32.7% of the leader · rank #4
Winona · near
32,083
Winona · near
32,083 median HH income
32.7% of the leader · rank #5
Red Boiling S… · near
32,083
Red Boiling S… · near
32,083 median HH income
32.7% of the leader · rank #6
Reddington · highest
98,232
Reddington · highest
98,232 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 Readstown 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: 380.
Nationally, Readstown sits in the 3rd percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
3rd
percentile, household income
9th
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: Readstown, WI
Readstown is a small town in Wisconsin, home to 380 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $32,083 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 17.9%. Typical homes in Readstown are valued around $97,300, and the median resident age is 40.6 years. About 13.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 47.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 1 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Low Activity).
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. 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 Readstown'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 work and mobility to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Readstown, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, 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
Which cities make useful reference points for Readstown?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Ontario (380 residents, $57,500 income); Clyman (379 residents, $71,696 income); Curtiss (379 residents, $63,958 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Miranda, CA (380 residents); Alto Pass, IL (380 residents); Belle Rive, IL (380 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Readstown?
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 86.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Readstown?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.9%, 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.
Is Readstown growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -6 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 17.9% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
F
City profile score · Readstown, WI
24/100
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
17.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$32,083
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Readstown profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Poverty rate: 17/100 (F) · 17.9%
Bachelor's+ share: 15/100 (F) · 13.1%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $32,083
How does Readstown compare to other US cities?
Readstown measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income3% higher than other cities
Home value9% 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 Readstown 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 Readstown near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Readstown ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Readstown only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#749 of 753
1st percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#703 of 754
7th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#60 of 761
92nd percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#585 of 761
23rd 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
3rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Readstown's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$97,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 91% 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
Readstown's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,879 of 15,516
More affordable than 56% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,788 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.0×, Readstown sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,879 of 15,516 and #5,788 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
$32,083Readstown, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Readstown, 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 Readstown, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)47.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
380
Median Income
$32,083
Median Home Value
$97,300
Median Age
40.6
Poverty Rate
17.9%
Labor force participation
47.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.1%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Readstown's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
376 residents
2021
374 residents
2022
371 residents
2023
369 residents
2024
370 residents
2025
370 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
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
0
0
0
-
2020
3
3
0
$0.8M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
1
1
0
$0.4M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
86.1%
Carpool
1.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.6%
Work from Home
8.8%
Based on 137 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 Readstown. 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 Readstown 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 Readstown sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Readstown 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, 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.