Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Area Profile

16,565 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Beaver Dam, in Dodge County.

74out of 100
Area Score
Top 5% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 6% of 4,199 cities measured81
Schools2,248th of 4,162 cities measured47
GrowthTop 17% of 4,224 cities measured69
Housing affordabilityTop 2% of 4,218 cities measured89
Climate3,993rd of 4,225 cities measured55
Physical resilienceTop 5% of 4,226 cities measured94
Access3,174th of 4,226 cities measured83
Economic stabilityTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured66
The quick read

Beaver Dam ranks in the top 6% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.7% and median household income of $66,673. The unemployment rate is published for Dodge County, WI, which contains Beaver Dam, rather than for Beaver Dam alone.

In the public schools here, 40% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.0 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 71 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 115% on the prior year.

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

Population
16,565
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,673
Top 50% nationally
Density
2,231/sq mi
7.4 sq mi of land
Median age
40.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Micro area
Nearest major airport
MSN
34 mi · Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld
Median home value
$201,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Dodge County, WI, which contains Beaver Dam, is 2.7%, lower than in 98% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Dodge County, WI, which contains Beaver Dam, grew 3.2% over the past year, to 50,501 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDodge County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$64,33835th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDodge County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,55420th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,1552024 ACS 5-Year$66,673Top 50%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,1472024 ACS 5-Year$37,703Top 38%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%Top 42%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.0 minTop 46%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.1%Top 39%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.5%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentDodge County, WI’s figureJuly 202650,501Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Dodge County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+3.1%Top 13%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Dodge County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+3.2%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceDodge County, WI’s figureJuly 202651,89046th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.3%Top 31%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Dodge County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateDodge County, WI’s figureJuly 20262.7%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.5%54th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202469k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,673 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Dodge County, WI, which contains this city.

40% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.0 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.0
across 7 of them
Math proficiency
40.0%
Bottom 36% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
40.1%
Bottom 40% in Wisconsin
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Beaver Dam HighBeaver Dam Unified School District1,03115.226%38%
Beaver Dam MiddleBeaver Dam Unified School District63313.235%35%
Prairie View ElementaryBeaver Dam Unified School District33712.061%47%
Jefferson ElementaryBeaver Dam Unified School District32810.647%37%
Washington ElementaryBeaver Dam Unified School District26017.357%52%
Lincoln ElementaryBeaver Dam Unified School District20110.652%42%
BDUSD4KidsBeaver Dam Unified School District157157.0——
Wilson ElementaryBeaver Dam Unified School District414.672%57%

48.2% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin is up 59% over five years, and up 4.9% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,536 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.75% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,080, some 13% above the $959 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,080 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $43,200 a year, about 65% of the median household income here of $66,673.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $959 a month.

A median home at $201,900 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $90,615, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
22.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,080
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$959
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$201,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Beaver Dam’s median household income of $66,673, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+4.9%77th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+59.2%95th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+110.3%77th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 41%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year55.3%14th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2482024 ACS 5-Year7,83192nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$873Top 12%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,454Top 15%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,080Top 13%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$422024 ACS 5-Year$959Top 49%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,6142024 ACS 5-Year$201,90054th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1902024 ACS 5-Year$3,53679th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,0172024 ACS 5-Year$90,615Top 36%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year1.75%87th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.7%Top 23%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±722024 ACS 5-Year6485th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%60th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.5%24th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1552024 ACS 5-Year26082nd percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

69/ 100
Top 17% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 2% since 2020, to 16,443 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

92% of the 71 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Dodge County, which contains Beaver Dam, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $64,338, above the $57,554 of households that moved out.

At 4.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
71
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.3
Top 33% nationally
Year over year
+115%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
91.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202417k16k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
19%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$64,338
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$57,554
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jefferson County, WI 457 people · 13% of arrivals
  2. Fond du Lac County, WI 413 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Waukesha County, WI 354 people · 9.7% of arrivals
  4. Washington County, WI 353 people · 9.7% of arrivals
  5. Dane County, WI 313 people · 8.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fond du Lac County, WI 507 people · 13% of departures
  2. Jefferson County, WI 433 people · 12% of departures
  3. Dane County, WI 365 people · 9.7% of departures
  4. Washington County, WI 308 people · 8.2% of departures
  5. Waukesha County, WI 279 people · 7.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Dodge County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025756.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+92%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 9°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.3 inches, including 43.3 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BEAVER DAM WWTP, 1.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals36.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals43.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals9°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals53°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
38
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

94 / 100
Physical resilience

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 42% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 95% of measured US cities.

HailModerate
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, heat wave, inland flooding, winter weather, landslide, wildfire, drought, ice storm, earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
159
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
696
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Beaver Dam's police department reported 159 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 696.

Dodge County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 10.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 12.5 per 100,000 residents in Dodge County.

Homicide
1.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
12.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
18.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Beaver Dam’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Beaver Dam (Dodge County) rather than Beaver Dam itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld at 34 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year88.1%Bottom 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle34 miBottom 23%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%Top 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN34 mi9,006 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH38 mi8,002 ft
Appleton IntlATW57 mi8,003 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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Area Score
74
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

ZIP codes in Beaver Dam

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Beaver Dam with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Beaver Dam closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5391622,808$71,188$220,300—