Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Area Profile

14,782 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Chippewa Falls, in Chippewa County.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 29% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 29% of 4,199 cities measured67
Schools2,119th of 4,162 cities measured49
Growth2,729th of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordabilityTop 12% of 4,218 cities measured80
Climate4,141st of 4,225 cities measured53
Physical resilienceTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured81
AccessTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability2,764th of 4,226 cities measured49
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $57,873, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Chippewa County, WI, which contains Chippewa Falls, rather than for Chippewa Falls alone.

In the public schools here, 43% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.0 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Chippewa County, WI, which contains Chippewa Falls, rather than for Chippewa Falls alone.

Residential permitting has slowed: 54 units authorized over the past twelve months, 61% 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
14,782
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$57,873
Bottom 36% nationally
Density
1,300/sq mi
11.4 sq mi of land
Median age
39.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Metro area
Nearest major airport
EAU
7 mi · Chippewa Valley Rgnl
Median home value
$210,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Chippewa County, WI, which contains Chippewa Falls, is 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Chippewa County, WI, which contains Chippewa Falls, grew 0.9% over the past year, to 33,826 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsChippewa County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$63,41433rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftChippewa County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$52,98511th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,7432024 ACS 5-Year$57,873Bottom 36%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3012024 ACS 5-Year$31,256Bottom 41%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year14.4%Bottom 37%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.8 minTop 13%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year20.9%Top 49%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year76.0%46th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentChippewa County, WI’s figureJuly 202633,826Bottom 38%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Chippewa County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.5%Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Chippewa County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.9%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceChippewa County, WI’s figureJuly 202634,95637th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year76.8%Bottom 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageEau Claire, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,760Bottom 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageEau Claire, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,100Bottom 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Chippewa County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateChippewa County, WI’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.2%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202462k54k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $57,873 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 — Eau Claire, WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,890$34,340
Retail Salespersons2,650$34,000
Registered Nurses2,420$93,410
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,370$28,070
Cashiers2,190$31,440
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand2,160$45,320

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.

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

43% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Chippewa County, WI, which contains Chippewa Falls, rather than for Chippewa Falls alone.

There are 14.0 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Chippewa County, WI, which contains Chippewa Falls, rather than for Chippewa Falls alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
14.0
Math proficiency
42.8%
Bottom 46% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
40.4%
Bottom 41% in Wisconsin

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Chippewa County, WI: too few schools in Chippewa Falls reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

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 Eau Claire, WI Metro Area is up 47% over five years, and up 2.3% 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 $2,762 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.31% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,181, some 30% above the $910 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,181 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,200 a year, about 82% of the median household income here of $57,873.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $910 a month.

A median home at $210,400 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,823, 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 Eau Claire, 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
26.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,181
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$910
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$210,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Chippewa Falls’s median household income of $57,873, 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 Eau Claire, WI Metro Area’s figure202391.5Top 11%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Eau Claire, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.3%36th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Eau Claire, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+46.8%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Eau Claire, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+104.4%69th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 43%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year50.7%10th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3512024 ACS 5-Year6,80791st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$962Top 20%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,582Top 22%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,181Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$512024 ACS 5-Year$910Top 43%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,1462024 ACS 5-Year$210,40056th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1732024 ACS 5-Year$2,76270th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,1662024 ACS 5-Year$77,823Bottom 49%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.13%2024 ACS 5-Year1.31%69th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.6%Top 40%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±252024 ACS 5-Year1669th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%25th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1242024 ACS 5-Year20078th 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

44/ 100
Ranks 2,729 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in 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 grown 2% since 2020, reaching 15,075 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 23 units authorized in 2025, 86% below the prior year.

74% of the 54 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 Chippewa County, which contains Chippewa Falls, gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $63,414, above the $52,985 of households that moved out.

At 3.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
54
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.7
Top 39% nationally
Year over year
−61%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
74.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202415k15k
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 3 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
24%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$63,414
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$52,985
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Eau Claire County, WI 1,021 people · 36% of arrivals
  2. Dunn County, WI 211 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  3. Barron County, WI 153 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  4. Clark County, WI 123 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Rusk County, WI 74 people · 2.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Eau Claire County, WI 993 people · 36% of departures
  2. Dunn County, WI 192 people · 7.0% of departures
  3. Barron County, WI 142 people · 5.2% of departures
  4. Clark County, WI 92 people · 3.4% of departures
  5. Rusk County, WI 85 people · 3.1% 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 Chippewa County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202516223
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−45%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 6°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.0 inches, including 55.4 inches of snow.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station EAU CLAIRE RGNL AP, 6.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals55.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals6°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals57°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

81 / 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 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.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 79% of measured US cities.

Strong windModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, landslide, winter weather, heat wave, ice storm, wildfire, drought, earthquake, 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
211
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
495
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.

Chippewa Falls's police department reported 211 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 495.

Chippewa County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.9 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 10.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 8.4 per 100,000 residents in Chippewa County.

Homicide
1.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
8.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
20.9
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 Chippewa Falls’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 Chippewa Falls (Chippewa County) rather than Chippewa Falls 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.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this 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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Chippewa Valley Rgnl at 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year89.0%Bottom 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 14%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%Bottom 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU7 mi8,101 ft
La Crosse RgnlLSE73 mi8,742 ft
Rochester IntlRST90 mi9,034 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
65
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Other cities in Eau Claire, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Eau ClaireEau Claire County70,32270Eau Claire vs Chippewa Falls

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 Chippewa Falls side by side with a similar place.

Chippewa Falls vs MenomonieChippewa Falls vs Oshkosh

Moving to Chippewa Falls 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
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.