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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-RIPON-WI · Ripon, WI 7,803 pop · income 34th pct · 6 tracts
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 Ripon
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ripon on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Humboldt · lowest
42,873
Humboldt · lowest
42,873 median HH income
32.0% of the leader · rank #1
Ripon · this city
59,063
Ripon · this city
59,063 median HH income
44.2% of the leader · rank #2
Trinity Center · near
59,063
Trinity Center · near
59,063 median HH income
44.2% of the leader · rank #3
Nezperce · near
59,063
Nezperce · near
59,063 median HH income
44.2% of the leader · rank #4
Beclabito · near
59,063
Beclabito · near
59,063 median HH income
44.2% of the leader · rank #5
Zeb · near
59,063
Zeb · near
59,063 median HH income
44.2% of the leader · rank #6
Tyrone · highest
133,773
Tyrone · highest
133,773 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 Ripon 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: 7,803.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Ripon - the verdict
Ripon ranks in the 34th percentile for household income and the 71st percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
34th
percentile, household income
31st
percentile, home value
29th
percentile, median rent
71st
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: Ripon, WI
Ripon is a small town in Wisconsin, home to 7,803 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Ripon households earn a median of $59,063 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.5%. Typical homes in Ripon are valued around $161,500, and the median resident age is 43.3 years. Educational attainment runs 24.6% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 61.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 9 residential building permits were authorized in Ripon (Building Boom), up 80% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Ripon reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 827.1 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 45.1°F with 31.5 inches of precipitation per year and 37.6 inches of snowfall.
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Wisconsin's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). The average commute for Ripon workers runs 15.5 minutes, with 72.8% driving alone and 13.2% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 59.1 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ripon'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 population change to schools and households to work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist to reported crime to climate and hazard context to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ripon, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Is Ripon growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -120 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 9 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.
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 7 public schools within the city match. 24.6% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ripon?
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 Jackson (7,882 residents, $95,960 income); Ashland (7,884 residents, $49,258 income); Jefferson (7,722 residents, $77,095 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Tyrone, GA (7,803 residents); Broadview Park, FL (7,802 residents); St. Joseph, MI (7,805 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.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Ripon?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.8%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.5 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.
Drive alone
72.8%
Work from home
13.2%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,915 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Ripon?
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 2.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.7×
Home value
$161,500
Household income
$59,063
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Ripon?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 827.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 64% 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.
Total reported rate
827.1
Violent rate
180.9
Property rate
646.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 45.1°F, with 31.5 inches of precipitation and 37.6 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Wisconsin is 59.1 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
59.1
Annual precipitation
31.5 in
Mean temperature
45.1°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Below median income · poverty 6.5% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
C-
City profile score · Ripon, WI
50/100
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.
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 C
6.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime C-
181 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share D
24.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$59,063
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Ripon profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Poverty rate: 56/100 (C) · 6.5%
Violent crime: 51/100 (C-) · 181 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 48/100 (D) · 24.6%
Household income: 33/100 (F) · $59,063
Where Ripon sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Ripon'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 - Ripon highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Ripon, WI (this city): home $161,500, crime 827/100k
Tyrone, GA : home $436,600, crime 511/100k
St. Joseph, MI : home $271,100, crime 1,977/100k
Humboldt, TN : home $111,300, crime 2,197/100k
Grand Ledge, MI : home $189,300, crime 707/100k
Ashland, WI : home $162,200, crime 3,126/100k
Jefferson, WI : home $222,100, crime 1,620/100k
Mount Horeb, WI : home $359,500, crime 284/100k
Cottage Grove, WI : home $401,900, crime 567/100k
Hales Corners, WI : home $291,100, crime 745/100k
How does Ripon compare to other US cities?
Ripon measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income34% higher than other cities
Home value31% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% pricier than other cities
Safety71% 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, Ripon ranks #89 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 Ripon 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 Ripon near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ripon ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ripon only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#530 of 753
30th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#456 of 754
40th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#320 of 761
57th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#315 of 761
58th 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
34th percentile nationally for median household income · 71st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Ripon's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Ripon'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 Ripon's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$161,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 69% 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
Ripon's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,221 of 15,516
More affordable than 66% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,560 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.7×, Ripon sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,221 of 15,516 and #4,560 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
$59,063Ripon, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ripon, 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 Ripon, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)24.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
7,803
Median Income
$59,063
Median Home Value
$161,500
Median Age
43.3
Poverty Rate
6.5%
Labor force participation
61.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
24.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
827.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
180.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
646.2
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
45.1°F
Annual Precipitation
31.5"
Annual Snowfall
37.6"
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ripon's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
7,858 residents
2021
7,764 residents
2022
7,792 residents
2023
7,756 residents
2024
7,752 residents
2025
7,738 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
9
housing units authorized
Single-Family
9
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
5
5
0
$1.6M
2020
5
3
2
$1.0M
2021
7
7
0
$2.2M
2022
4
4
0
$1.1M
2023
13
13
0
$4.5M
2024
9
9
0
$2.7M
Permit volume increased 80% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.5 minutes
Drive Alone
72.8%
Carpool
8.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.1%
Work from Home
13.2%
Other
1.6%
Based on 3,915 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 Ripon. 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 Ripon 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 Ripon sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ripon 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.