Manitowoc County, WI

County Profile

81,406 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Manitowoc County, WI.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

68out of 100
Area Score
Top 18% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 20% of 1,463 counties measured71
Schools1,149th of 1,377 counties measured23
GrowthTop 34% of 1,453 counties measured59
Housing affordabilityTop 3% of 1,462 counties measured90
Climate1,359th of 1,463 counties measured54
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 1,463 counties measured96
Access742nd of 1,463 counties measured81
Economic stabilityTop 24% of 1,463 counties measured77
The quick read

Manitowoc County ranks in the top 20% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $69,148.

In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.7 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most counties measured: rent takes 22% of renter income and the median home is 2.3 times what its owners earn.

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
81,406
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$69,148
Top 39% nationally
Density
138/sq mi
589.3 sq mi of land
Median age
45.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Manitowoc County
Wisconsin
Micro area
Nearest major airport
GRB
36 mi · Green Bay/Austin Straubel Intl
Median home value
$186,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 84% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 2.0% over the past year, to 41,704 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$57,18046th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$55,16241st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,4332024 ACS 5-Year$69,148Top 39%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9802024 ACS 5-Year$38,222Top 33%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$57,149Top 47%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%Top 23%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.3 minTop 21%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year22.6%Top 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year80.6%73rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202641,704Top 44%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.4%Top 46%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.0%Top 12%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202643,08755th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year80.2%Top 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%75th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Bottom 19%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%43rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.62.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, 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

202120222023202469k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $69,148 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.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 37% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.7 students for every full-time teacher across 27 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
27
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
34.7%
Bottom 6% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
37.0%
Bottom 12% in Wisconsin
The 12 largest of 27 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lincoln HighManitowoc School District1,38514.424%28%
Washington MiddleManitowoc School District56612.625%28%
Wilson MiddleManitowoc School District47811.933%43%
Two Rivers HighTwo Rivers Public School District47112.727%32%
Schultz ElementaryMishicot School District45516.347%42%
Zielanis ElementaryKiel Area School District41213.357%52%
Valders ElementaryValders Area School District41119.657%47%
Clarke MiddleTwo Rivers Public School District3979.727%29%
Kiel HighKiel Area School District37515.017%32%
Franklin ElementaryManitowoc School District35610.818%21%
Jefferson ElementaryManitowoc School District34410.427%24%
Kiel MiddleKiel Area School District33813.557%50%

40.6% 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.

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 $2,695 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.44% 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 22% above the $797 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 56% of the median household income here of $69,148.

The typical renter household here spends 22% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $797 a month.

A median home at $186,900 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $80,353, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
22.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$797
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$186,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Manitowoc County’s median household income of $69,148, 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%73rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+59.2%95th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+110.3%77th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 40%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.1%64th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±732024 ACS 5-Year38,08478th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$742Top 12%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,167Top 9%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 18%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$272024 ACS 5-Year$797Top 34%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,4252024 ACS 5-Year$186,90052nd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$492024 ACS 5-Year$2,69581st percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,2202024 ACS 5-Year$80,353Top 41%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year1.44%87th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.3%Top 11%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2112024 ACS 5-Year97174th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.5%48th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.1%16th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4652024 ACS 5-Year2,89665th percentileof 3,2222024 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

59/ 100
Top 34% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, 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 81,513 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 142 units authorized in 2025, up 42% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Manitowoc County gained about 0.3% 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 $57,180, close to the $55,162 of households that moved out.

At 2.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
206
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.5
Bottom 45% nationally
Year over year
+89%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
38.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202482k81k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
32%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$57,180
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$55,162
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sheboygan County, WI 433 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Brown County, WI 284 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Calumet County, WI 184 people · 7.5% of arrivals
  4. Milwaukee County, WI 105 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Outagamie County, WI 94 people · 3.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Sheboygan County, WI 304 people · 13% of departures
  2. Brown County, WI 302 people · 13% of departures
  3. Calumet County, WI 196 people · 8.7% of departures
  4. Outagamie County, WI 118 people · 5.2% of departures
  5. Milwaukee County, WI 88 people · 3.9% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025142100
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+42%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 76°F and January a low of 12°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 32.0 inches, including 46.1 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and about 11 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 TWO RIVERS, 1.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals32.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals46.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals12°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals76°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year112024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year392024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
64
90th percentile index
Days above 100
11
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

96 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 46% of it. Inland flooding 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 98% of measured US counties.

HailModerate
Cold waveModerate
Heat waveModerate
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Manitowoc County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.5 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 13.5 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 9.1 per 100,000 residents in Manitowoc County.

Homicide
1.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
22.1
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.

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 Manitowoc County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

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.
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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Green Bay/Austin Straubel Intl at 36 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year89.2%Top 32%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle36 miTop 50%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%Top 38%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB36 mi8,700 ft
Appleton IntlATW47 mi8,003 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH50 mi8,002 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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 areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.