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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-WILLIAMS-BAY-WI · Williams Bay, WI 2,967 pop · income 50th 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 Williams Bay
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Williams Bay on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Flemingsburg · lowest
32,500
Flemingsburg · lowest
32,500 median HH income
15.3% of the leader · rank #1
Williams Bay · this city
70,568
Williams Bay · this city
70,568 median HH income
33.3% of the leader · rank #2
Sanford · near
70,570
Sanford · near
70,570 median HH income
33.3% of the leader · rank #3
Brentwood · near
70,573
Brentwood · near
70,573 median HH income
33.3% of the leader · rank #4
Pixley · near
70,574
Pixley · near
70,574 median HH income
33.3% of the leader · rank #5
Waukegan · near
70,578
Waukegan · near
70,578 median HH income
33.3% of the leader · rank #6
Great Neck Es… · highest
211,875
Great Neck Es… · highest
211,875 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 Williams 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: 2,967.
Williams Bay ranks in the 50th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
50th
percentile, household income
77th
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: Williams Bay, WI
Wisconsin's Williams Bay is a small town, with 2,967 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Williams Bay report a median income of $70,568 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.9%. Williams Bay's housing stock carries a median value of $397,600, and the median resident age is 45.8 years. 46.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 54.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 5 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 58% from five years earlier.
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. 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 Williams 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 population change to schools and households to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Williams Bay, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Williams Bay growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -12 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 5 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the education layer cover for Williams Bay?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 46.2% 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Williams 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. 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 78.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Williams Bay?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Genoa City (2,967 residents, $88,958 income); Paddock Lake (2,965 residents, $88,438 income); Amery (2,959 residents, $71,290 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Flemingsburg, KY (2,967 residents); Piedra Aguza comunidad, PR (2,967 residents); Buena Vista, CO (2,966 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.
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 Williams Bay?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.9%, 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. 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
$70,568
Home value
$397,600
Value / income
5.6×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 5.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
C+
City profile score · Williams Bay, WI
63/100
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-
46.2%
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.
Poverty rate C+
5.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$70,568
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).
Williams Bay profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 46.2%
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Poverty rate: 60/100 (C+) · 5.9%
Household income: 50/100 (C-) · $70,568
How does Williams Bay compare to other US cities?
Here's how Williams Bay stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income50% higher than other cities
Home value77% 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 Williams 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 Williams Bay near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Williams Bay ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Williams Bay only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#354 of 753
53rd percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#35 of 754
95th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#355 of 761
53rd percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#68 of 761
91st 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
50th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Williams Bay's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$397,60023rd percentilemore affordable than 23% 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
Williams Bay's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,742 of 15,516
More affordable than 11% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,252 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.6×, Williams Bay sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,742 of 15,516 and #10,252 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
$70,568Williams Bay, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Williams 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 Williams Bay, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)46.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,967
Median Income
$70,568
Median Home Value
$397,600
Median Age
45.8
Poverty Rate
5.9%
Labor force participation
54.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
46.2%
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Williams Bay's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,947 residents
2021
2,954 residents
2022
2,973 residents
2023
2,982 residents
2024
2,954 residents
2025
2,935 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
5
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2022
12
12
0
$3.3M
2023
3
3
0
$0.9M
2024
5
5
0
$1.4M
Permit volume decreased 58% from 2022 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.6%
Carpool
4.1%
Public Transit
2.3%
Walk
0.7%
Work from Home
14.3%
Based on 1,227 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 Williams 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 Williams 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 Williams Bay sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Williams 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, 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.