Beloit, Wisconsin

Area Profile

36,534 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Beloit, in Rock County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 28% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,511th of 4,199 cities measured52
Schools3,915th of 4,162 cities measured14
Growth3,251st of 4,224 cities measured36
Housing affordabilityTop 25% of 4,218 cities measured75
Climate3,709th of 4,225 cities measured59
Physical resilienceTop 38% of 4,226 cities measured69
Access3,682nd of 4,226 cities measured72
Economic stability2,835th of 4,226 cities measured48
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $62,663, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 25% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 32 units authorized over the past twelve months, 18% below 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
36,534
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,663
Bottom 44% nationally
Density
2,103/sq mi
17.4 sq mi of land
Median age
33.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Nearest major airport
MSN
46 mi · Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld
Median home value
$156,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.6% over the past year, to 17,397 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsRock County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,93921st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftRock County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,21223rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,4662024 ACS 5-Year$62,663Bottom 44%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2002024 ACS 5-Year$30,910Bottom 40%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year14.9%Bottom 35%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.2 minTop 36%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.9%Bottom 43%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%59th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202617,397Bottom 18%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.3%Bottom 48%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Top 24%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202618,19818th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.3%Top 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageJanesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$61,110Bottom 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageJanesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,390Bottom 25%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%84th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%46th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.03.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202463k52k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $62,663 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.

Largest occupations — Janesville-Beloit, WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,150$28,290
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand2,000$44,590
Registered Nurses1,680$93,030
Retail Salespersons1,670$34,000
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,670$59,800
Cashiers1,610$31,240

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

25% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 22% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.4 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
24.6%
Bottom 4% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
22.4%
Bottom 3% in Wisconsin
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Memorial HighBeloit School District1,30514.711%17%
The Lincoln Academy · charterThe Lincoln Academy Inc72716.9——
Aldrich IntermediateBeloit School District52113.013%19%
Garden Prairie Intermediate SchoolBeloit Turner School District49117.5——
Fran Fruzen IntermediateBeloit School District49016.919%19%
Robinson ElementaryBeloit School District47716.442%32%
Todd ElementaryBeloit School District47115.732%27%
Turner HighBeloit Turner School District45915.322%32%
Converse ElementaryBeloit School District44616.542%27%
Hackett ElementaryBeloit School District43414.537%17%
Turner MiddleBeloit Turner School District38116.638%43%
Gaston ElementaryBeloit School District34815.827%12%

61.6% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area is up 55% over five years, and up 4.8% 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 $2,454 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.57% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,246, some 17% above the $1,066 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,246 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $49,800 a year, about 79% of the median household income here of $62,663.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,066 a month.

A median home at $156,500 costs 2.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $78,490, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
91.5

Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,246
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,066
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$156,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Beloit’s median household income of $62,663, 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
Cost of living indexthe Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area’s figure202391.5Top 11%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.8%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+55.1%90th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+123.6%91st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.0Top 32%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year59.4%20th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5312024 ACS 5-Year14,53196th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$955Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,596Top 23%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,246Top 24%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$632024 ACS 5-Year$1,066Bottom 42%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,7862024 ACS 5-Year$156,50040th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1452024 ACS 5-Year$2,45464th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,6372024 ACS 5-Year$78,490Top 50%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year1.57%81st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year28.9%Bottom 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±492024 ACS 5-Year4782nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.8%44th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2202024 ACS 5-Year89394th 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

36/ 100
Ranks 3,251 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 36,633 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 32 units authorized in 2025, 32% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 32 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Rock County, which contains Beloit, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $56,939, close to the $59,212 of households that moved out.

At 0.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
32
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.9
Bottom 23% nationally
Year over year
−18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202437k36k
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 rising for the last 2 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
47%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$56,939
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$59,212
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Dane County, WI 1,210 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Winnebago County, IL 681 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Walworth County, WI 405 people · 7.1% of arrivals
  4. Jefferson County, WI 320 people · 5.6% of arrivals
  5. Green County, WI 211 people · 3.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Dane County, WI 858 people · 16% of departures
  2. Winnebago County, IL 717 people · 13% of departures
  3. Walworth County, WI 345 people · 6.3% of departures
  4. Green County, WI 222 people · 4.1% of departures
  5. Jefferson County, WI 206 people · 3.8% 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 Rock County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420257722
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−58%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 15°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.2 inches, including 37.1 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ROCKFORD GTR ROCKFORD AP, 23.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals37.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals15°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year412024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals52°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
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

69 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% 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.

HailElevated
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate
Strong windModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, winter weather, landslide, earthquake, ice storm, drought, wildfire, 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. 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
432
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,904
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.

Beloit's police department reported 432 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,904.

Rock County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.2 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.0 per 100,000 residents in Rock County.

Homicide
3.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.5
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 Beloit’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 Beloit (Rock County) rather than Beloit 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld at 46 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.1%Bottom 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle46 miBottom 15%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%Top 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN46 mi9,006 ft
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD68 mi11,245 ft
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY103 mi8,859 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
52
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Other cities in Janesville-Beloit, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
JanesvilleRock County66,03063Janesville vs Beloit

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Beloit side by side with a similar place.

Beloit vs ZionBeloit vs Frankfort

Moving to Beloit from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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 Beloit

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Beloit with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5351148,701$67,067$173,50053