Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI
Micro Area Profile
74,004 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI micropolitan area.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 9 sourcesUnemployment is 3.6% and median household income $67,989, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.
In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.8 students for every teacher.
146 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.6%, lower than in 73% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.
Employment grew 2.0% over the past year, to 34,726 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$2,3262024 ACS 5-Year | $67,989 | Top 46%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,2772024 ACS 5-Year | $37,943 | Top 37%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.6% | Top 28%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 21.8 min | Top 26%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 21.4% | Bottom 33%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.4% | 51st percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 34,726 | Bottom 47%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −1.5% | Bottom 33%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | +2.0% | Top 10%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 36,040 | 47th percentileof 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.5% | Top 24%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.2% | 27th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.2% | Bottom 25%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.6% | Top 27%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.1% | 63rd percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 43% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 13.8 students for every full-time teacher across 29 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln High | Wisconsin Rapids School District | 1,337 | 17.1 | 27% | 38% |
| Marshfield High | Marshfield Unified School District | 1,181 | 15.5 | 38% | 51% |
| Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle | Wisconsin Rapids School District | 943 | 14.3 | 42% | 42% |
| Grant Elementary | Marshfield Unified School District | 554 | 15.4 | 61% | 60% |
| Marshfield Middle | Marshfield Unified School District | 537 | 14.9 | 41% | 47% |
| Auburndale Elementary | Auburndale School District | 421 | 14.5 | 42% | 42% |
| Auburndale High | Auburndale School District | 400 | 12.9 | 35% | 52% |
| Pittsville Elementary | Pittsville School District | 357 | 11.9 | 36% | 46% |
| Woodside Elementary | Wisconsin Rapids School District | 354 | 13.6 | 37% | 47% |
| Howe Elementary | Wisconsin Rapids School District | 336 | 11.6 | 32% | 32% |
| Alexander Middle | Nekoosa School District | 326 | 11.6 | 27% | 27% |
| Washington Elementary | Wisconsin Rapids School District | 322 | 12.9 | 47% | 47% |
43.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Wisconsin’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,697 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.54% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 14% above the $856 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 57% of the median household income here of $67,989.
The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $856 a month.
A median home at $175,600 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $79,024, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield’s median household income of $67,989, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year | 2.2 | Top 24%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 72.6% | 68th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±702024 ACS 5-Year | 34,755 | 49th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $742 | Top 14%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,220 | Top 15%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $973 | Top 21%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$332024 ACS 5-Year | $856 | Top 25%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$5,2522024 ACS 5-Year | $175,600 | 33rd percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$472024 ACS 5-Year | $2,697 | 71st percentileof 933 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$3,1702024 ACS 5-Year | $79,024 | Bottom 43%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.54% | 89th percentileof 932 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.7% | Top 13%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±2092024 ACS 5-Year | 547 | 35th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.6% | 44th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.6% | 25th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±4142024 ACS 5-Year | 2,502 | 27th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 73,943 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 146 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.
Population, annual estimates
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 8°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 31.3 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 31.3" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 8°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 82°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 54°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 50% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 80% of measured US metro and micro areas.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, heat wave, wildfire, ice storm, strong wind, landslide, earthquake, drought, hurricane, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Death-certificate rates
- The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest La Crosse Rgnl at 73 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 89.8% | Top 35%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 73 mi | Bottom 16%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 6 | Top 15%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.1% | Top 45%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse Rgnl | LSE | 73 mi | 8,742 ft |
| Chippewa Valley Rgnl | EAU | 76 mi | 8,101 ft |
| Appleton Intl | ATW | 76 mi | 8,003 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.