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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-WISCONSIN-RAPIDS-WI · Wisconsin Rapids, WI 18,756 pop · income 26th pct · 17 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 Wisconsin Rapids
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Wisconsin Rapids on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Thomasville · lowest
48,464
Thomasville · lowest
48,464 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #1
Cherokee · near
54,107
Cherokee · near
54,107 median HH income
39.8% of the leader · rank #2
Bonners Ferry · near
54,107
Bonners Ferry · near
54,107 median HH income
39.8% of the leader · rank #3
Nelson · near
54,115
Nelson · near
54,115 median HH income
39.8% of the leader · rank #4
Wisconsin Rap… · this city
54,116
Wisconsin Rap… · this city
54,116 median HH income
39.8% of the leader · rank #5
Admire · near
54,118
Admire · near
54,118 median HH income
39.8% of the leader · rank #6
Rutherford · highest
136,069
Rutherford · highest
136,069 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 Wisconsin Rapids 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: 18,756.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Wisconsin Rapids - the verdict
Nationally, Wisconsin Rapids sits in the 26th percentile for household income and the 24th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
26th
percentile, household income
16th
percentile, home value
29th
percentile, median rent
24th
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: Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Wisconsin Rapids is a small town in Wisconsin, home to 18,756 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Wisconsin Rapids households earn a median of $54,116 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.2%. Home values in Wisconsin Rapids run a median of $116,600, and the median resident age is 38.3 years. About 16.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 58.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 9 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 55% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2424.5 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 43.8°F with 33.4 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. 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 Wisconsin Rapids'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 reported crime to population change to schools and households to work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Wisconsin Rapids, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Within-city variation
What can 17 Census tracts reveal inside Wisconsin Rapids?
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 17 Census tracts to this city.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Wisconsin Rapids?
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 2424.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 6% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Is Wisconsin Rapids 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 -201 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.1% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Wisconsin Rapids?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Marshfield (18,718 residents, $59,294 income); Onalaska (18,909 residents, $84,898 income); Fox Crossing (18,960 residents, $74,423 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Rutherford, NJ (18,748 residents); Elizabeth City, NC (18,740 residents); Clive, IA (18,776 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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Wisconsin Rapids?
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 16.9% 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
11
Bachelor's degree+
16.9%
Poverty estimate
8.2%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Wisconsin Rapids?
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 79.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.2%
Work from home
7.7%
Drive alone
79.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 8,717 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Wisconsin Rapids?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.2%, 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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Household income
$54,116
Home value
$116,600
Value / income
2.2×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What physical conditions frame life in Wisconsin Rapids?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 43.8°F, with 33.4 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
43.8°F
Annual precipitation
33.4 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.
Below median income · poverty 8.2% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
F
City profile score · Wisconsin Rapids, WI
36/100
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 D
8.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$54,116
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
532 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Wisconsin Rapids profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Poverty rate: 47/100 (D) · 8.2%
Household income: 26/100 (F) · $54,116
Bachelor's+ share: 25/100 (F) · 16.9%
Violent crime: 14/100 (F) · 532 /100k
Where Wisconsin Rapids sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Wisconsin Rapids'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 - Wisconsin Rapids highlighted among 13 peers.Read the chart values
Wisconsin Rapids, WI (this city): home $116,600, crime 2,425/100k
Rutherford, NJ : home $580,800, crime 861/100k
Elizabeth City, NC : home $202,100, crime 2,728/100k
Clive, IA : home $379,000, crime 1,375/100k
Weirton, WV : home $122,800, crime 468/100k
Thomasville, GA : home $196,500, crime 3,944/100k
Ottawa, IL : home $144,500, crime 1,683/100k
Marshfield, WI : home $169,900, crime 1,328/100k
Onalaska, WI : home $279,100, crime 2,329/100k
Fox Crossing, WI : home $228,000, crime 835/100k
Oconomowoc, WI : home $367,700, crime 324/100k
Menasha, WI : home $169,200, crime 1,061/100k
Cudahy, WI : home $201,000, crime 888/100k
How does Wisconsin Rapids compare to other US cities?
Where Wisconsin Rapids sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income26% higher than other cities
Home value16% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% pricier than other cities
Safety24% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Wisconsin and the picture shifts: Wisconsin Rapids ranks #185 of 202 Wisconsin cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Wisconsin Rapids 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 Wisconsin Rapids near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Wisconsin Rapids ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Wisconsin Rapids only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#610 of 753
19th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#644 of 754
15th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#238 of 761
68th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#478 of 761
37th 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
26th percentile nationally for median household income · 24th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Wisconsin Rapids's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Wisconsin Rapids'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 Wisconsin Rapids's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$116,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 84% 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
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,251 of 15,516
More affordable than 85% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#122 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.2×, Wisconsin Rapids sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,251 of 15,516 and #122 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$54,116Wisconsin Rapids, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Wisconsin Rapids, 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 Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
18,756
Median Income
$54,116
Median Home Value
$116,600
Median Age
38.3
Poverty Rate
8.2%
Labor force participation
58.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2424.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
532.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1892.3
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
43.8°F
Annual Precipitation
33.4"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Wisconsin Rapids's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
18,855 residents
2021
18,765 residents
2022
18,725 residents
2023
18,782 residents
2024
18,764 residents
2025
18,654 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
9
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
4
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2022
20
8
12
$3.3M
2023
13
3
10
$1.6M
2024
9
5
4
$2.0M
Permit volume decreased 55% from 2022 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.1%
Carpool
9.5%
Public Transit
0.2%
Walk
1.8%
Work from Home
7.7%
Other
1.7%
Based on 8,717 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 Wisconsin Rapids. 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 Wisconsin Rapids 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 Wisconsin Rapids sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Wisconsin Rapids 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.