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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-RIVER-FALLS-WI · River Falls, WI 16,349 pop · income 59th pct · 8 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 River Falls
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest River Falls on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lady Lake · lowest
47,260
Lady Lake · lowest
47,260 median HH income
25.8% of the leader · rank #1
Brent · near
78,068
Brent · near
78,068 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #2
Russellton · near
78,068
Russellton · near
78,068 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #3
Arthurdale · near
78,070
Arthurdale · near
78,070 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #4
River Falls · this city
78,078
River Falls · this city
78,078 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #5
Koontz Lake · near
78,081
Koontz Lake · near
78,081 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #6
Stone Ridge · highest
183,211
Stone Ridge · highest
183,211 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 River Falls 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: 16,349.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
River Falls - the verdict
Nationally, River Falls sits in the 59th 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.
59th
percentile, household income
65th
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: River Falls, WI
River Falls is a small town in Wisconsin, home to 16,349 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $78,078 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.0%. Typical homes in River Falls are valued around $299,800, and the median resident age is 27.9 years. 44.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 69.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 106 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 50% from five years earlier. River Falls reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 990.0 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 43.4°F with 34.1 inches of precipitation per year.
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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,097 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Wisconsin run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 19.2 minutes, with 71.1% driving alone and 10.5% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 River Falls'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 within-city variation to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change to climate and hazard context to housing and income to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For River Falls, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in River Falls?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 990.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 57% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What can 8 Census tracts reveal inside River Falls?
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.
What does the journey to work look like in River Falls?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 71.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.2 minutes.
Which cities make useful reference points for River Falls?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Bellevue (16,255 residents, $80,750 income); Menomonie (16,548 residents, $54,587 income); Beaver Dam (16,629 residents, $68,757 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Chickasha, OK (16,349 residents); Stone Ridge, VA (16,340 residents); Lady Lake, FL (16,337 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
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 River Falls growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,610 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +9.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 106 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+9.9%
2025 estimate
17,916
2020 estimate
16,306
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What physical conditions frame life in River Falls?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 43.4°F, with 34.1 inches of precipitation. 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.
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.
Mean temperature
43.4°F
Annual precipitation
34.1 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
59.1
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
How far does income reach against housing in River Falls?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.0%, 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.
Household income
$78,078
Home value
$299,800
Value / income
3.8×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the education layer cover for River Falls?
The NCES join finds 9 public schools within the city match. 44.1% 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.
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.
Matched public schools
9
Bachelor's degree+
44.1%
Poverty estimate
4.0%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 4.0% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
B-
City profile score · River Falls, WI
67/100
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+
44.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B
4.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better 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.
Violent crime C+
128 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income C
$78,078
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
River Falls profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 79/100 (B+) · 44.1%
Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 4.0%
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Violent crime: 64/100 (C+) · 128 /100k
Household income: 57/100 (C) · $78,078
Where River Falls sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
River Falls'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 - River Falls highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
River Falls, WI (this city): home $299,800, crime 990/100k
Chickasha, OK : home $113,200, crime 2,162/100k
Mattoon, IL : home $96,000, crime 1,731/100k
Lake Wales, FL : home $225,900, crime 1,772/100k
Menomonie, WI : home $203,800, crime 1,344/100k
Beaver Dam, WI : home $189,800, crime 1,269/100k
Ashwaubenon, WI : home $245,100, crime 2,448/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does River Falls compare to other US cities?
River Falls measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income59% higher than other cities
Home value65% 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.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Wisconsin alone, River Falls ranks #104 of 202 Wisconsin cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares River Falls 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 River Falls near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, River Falls ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares River Falls only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#259 of 753
66th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#106 of 754
86th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#449 of 761
41st percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#77 of 761
90th 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
59th percentile nationally for median household income · 64th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
River Falls's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
River Falls'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 River Falls's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$299,80035th percentilemore affordable than 35% 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
River Falls's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,204 of 15,516
More affordable than 34% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,825 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.8×, River Falls sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,204 of 15,516 and #1,825 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$78,078River Falls, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context River Falls, 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 River Falls, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)44.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)69.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,349
Median Income
$78,078
Median Home Value
$299,800
Median Age
27.9
Poverty Rate
4.0%
Labor force participation
69.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
44.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
990.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
128.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
861.9
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
43.4°F
Annual Precipitation
34.1"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
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
River Falls's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
16,306 residents
2021
15,509 residents
2022
16,648 residents
2023
17,265 residents
2024
17,750 residents
2025
17,916 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
106
housing units authorized
Single-Family
102
detached homes
Multifamily
4
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
212
76
136
$28.2M
2020
281
87
194
$41.0M
2021
134
48
86
$21.8M
2022
163
57
106
$31.7M
2023
279
67
212
$46.6M
2024
106
102
4
$26.1M
Permit volume decreased 50% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
19.2 minutes
Drive Alone
71.1%
Carpool
9.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
8.3%
Work from Home
10.5%
Other
1.0%
Based on 9,213 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 River Falls. 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 River Falls 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 River Falls sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How River Falls 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.