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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-SISTER-BAY-WI · Sister Bay, WI 1,016 pop · income 32nd pct · 10 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 Sister Bay
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sister Bay on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Jonesville · lowest
35,000
Jonesville · lowest
35,000 median HH income
40.1% of the leader · rank #1
Sister Bay · this city
57,679
Sister Bay · this city
57,679 median HH income
66.1% of the leader · rank #2
Shipshewana · near
57,679
Shipshewana · near
57,679 median HH income
66.1% of the leader · rank #3
Boothbay Harb… · near
57,679
Boothbay Harb… · near
57,679 median HH income
66.1% of the leader · rank #4
Cumby · near
57,679
Cumby · near
57,679 median HH income
66.1% of the leader · rank #5
Princeton · near
57,682
Princeton · near
57,682 median HH income
66.1% of the leader · rank #6
Eagle Lake · highest
87,244
Eagle Lake · highest
87,244 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 Sister Bay 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: 1,016.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Sister Bay lands in the 32nd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
32nd
percentile, household income
69th
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: Sister Bay, WI
Wisconsin's Sister Bay is a small town, with 1,016 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Sister Bay brings in $57,679 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 21.4%. Sister Bay's housing stock carries a median value of $328,700, and the median resident age is 54.8 years. About 48.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 50.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 20 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 33% from five years earlier.
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. 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. The average commute for Sister Bay workers runs 10.4 minutes, with 69.2% driving alone and 17.2% working from home. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Sister Bay'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 within-city variation to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Sister Bay, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Within-city variation
What can 10 Census tracts reveal inside Sister Bay?
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.
PlainCities matches 10 Census tracts to this city.
What does the journey to work look like in Sister Bay?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 69.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 10.4 minutes.
Which cities make useful reference points for Sister Bay?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Eagle Lake (1,019 residents, $87,244 income); Chain O' Lakes (1,006 residents, $83,438 income); Crivitz (1,026 residents, $53,846 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Leroy, AL (1,016 residents); Mancos, CO (1,016 residents); Blue Ridge Summit, PA (1,016 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.
Is Sister Bay 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 +17 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 20 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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 Sister Bay?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 21.4%, 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. 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.
Household income
$57,679
Home value
$328,700
Value / income
5.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 21.4% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
D
City profile score · Sister Bay, WI
45/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share A-
48.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
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 F
$57,679
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
21.4%
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).
Sister Bay profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 83/100 (A-) · 48.6%
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Household income: 31/100 (F) · $57,679
Poverty rate: 11/100 (F) · 21.4%
How does Sister Bay compare to other US cities?
Where Sister Bay sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income32% higher than other cities
Home value69% 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 Sister Bay 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 Sister Bay near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sister Bay ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sister Bay only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#557 of 753
26th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#85 of 754
89th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#34 of 761
95th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#55 of 761
93rd 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
32nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Sister Bay's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$328,70031st percentilemore affordable than 31% 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
Sister Bay's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,807 of 15,516
More affordable than 11% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,290 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.7×, Sister Bay sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,807 of 15,516 and #10,290 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$57,679Sister Bay, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Sister Bay, 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 Sister Bay, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)48.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)21.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,016
Median Income
$57,679
Median Home Value
$328,700
Median Age
54.8
Poverty Rate
21.4%
Labor force participation
50.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
48.6%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Sister Bay's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,160 residents
2021
1,164 residents
2022
1,191 residents
2023
1,171 residents
2024
1,173 residents
2025
1,177 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
20
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
20
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
19.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
15
13
2
$5.9M
2020
8
6
2
$3.0M
2021
13
9
4
$5.4M
2022
16
0
16
$2.5M
2023
24
0
24
$4.1M
2024
20
0
20
$3.4M
Permit volume increased 33% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
10.4 minutes
Drive Alone
69.2%
Carpool
5.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
8.3%
Work from Home
17.2%
Based on 412 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 Sister Bay. 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 Sister Bay 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 Sister Bay sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Sister Bay 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.