Racine County, WI

County Profile

197,532 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Racine 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.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 32% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 31% of 1,463 counties measured64
Schools1,271st of 1,377 counties measured15
GrowthTop 40% of 1,453 counties measured56
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 1,462 counties measured79
Climate1,135th of 1,463 counties measured60
Physical resilienceTop 1% of 1,463 counties measured97
Access1,059th of 1,463 counties measured69
Economic stabilityTop 27% of 1,463 counties measured76
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $78,096, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 29% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.1 students for every teacher.

630 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 12% 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

Population
197,532
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$78,096
Top 21% nationally
Density
594/sq mi
332.6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Racine County
Wisconsin
Nearest major airport
ORD
56 mi · Chicago O'Hare Intl
Median home value
$251,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0%, lower than in 53% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.1% over the past year, to 98,001 employed residents.

28% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 72% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$67,14269th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$62,74863rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,3012024 ACS 5-Year$78,096Top 21%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0612024 ACS 5-Year$41,162Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$63,130Top 29%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year10.2%Top 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.5 minTop 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year28.4%Top 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.4%49th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202698,001Top 23%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 37%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.1%Top 19%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026102,13477th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year80.2%Top 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%84th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 33%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.0%Top 47%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year9.9%62nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.92.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, 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

202120222023202478k67k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $78,096 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 — Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,210$35,740
Retail Salespersons2,340$30,970
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand2,190$45,430
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,170$28,670
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators2,120$45,300
Cashiers1,870$29,970

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.

29% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 31% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.1 students for every full-time teacher across 46 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
49
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.1
across 46 of them
Math proficiency
28.5%
Bottom 3% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
30.8%
Bottom 3% in Wisconsin
The 12 largest of 49 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Case HighRacine Unified School District1,85615.713%28%
Gifford SchoolRacine Unified School District1,33115.335%38%
Horlick HighRacine Unified School District1,21213.811%19%
Park HighRacine Unified School District1,20313.83%13%
Starbuck International SchoolRacine Unified School District1,13313.814%18%
Mitchell SchoolRacine Unified School District1,04010.89%10%
Union Grove HighUnion Grove UHS School District1,03216.433%40%
Waterford HighWaterford UHS School District88913.143%46%
Union Grove ElementaryUnion Grove J1 School District88615.856%52%
Burlington High SchoolBurlington Area School District88016.029%46%
Jerstad-Agerholm SchoolRacine Unified School District87011.27%9%
Karcher Middle SchoolBurlington Area School District77916.650%53%

47.6% 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 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.2, 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 Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area is up 57% over five years, and up 7.2% 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 $4,099 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.63% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,235, some 14% above the $1,080 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,235 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $49,400 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $78,096.

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 $1,080 a month.

A median home at $251,400 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $92,331, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
95.2

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Racine-Mount Pleasant, 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
27.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,235
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,080
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$251,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Racine County’s median household income of $78,096, 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 Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area’s figure202395.2Bottom 45%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+7.2%96th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+56.5%88th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+116.4%85th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 39%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year71.0%33rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1822024 ACS 5-Year85,65889th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$988Bottom 46%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,592Bottom 46%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,235Bottom 44%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$262024 ACS 5-Year$1,080Bottom 24%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,3112024 ACS 5-Year$251,40073rd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$752024 ACS 5-Year$4,09993rd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,1282024 ACS 5-Year$92,331Top 21%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.63%93rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year27.3%Top 45%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2962024 ACS 5-Year1,14777th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%32nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%14th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6162024 ACS 5-Year5,25281st 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

56/ 100
Top 40% of 1,453 published county 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 198,651 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 468 units authorized in 2025, 7% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Racine 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 $67,142, above the $62,748 of households that moved out.

At 3.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
630
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.2
Top 45% nationally
Year over year
+12%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
30.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024199k197k
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
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
34%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$67,142
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$62,748
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Milwaukee County, WI 1,966 people · 25% of arrivals
  2. Kenosha County, WI 1,684 people · 22% of arrivals
  3. Waukesha County, WI 513 people · 6.6% of arrivals
  4. Walworth County, WI 365 people · 4.7% of arrivals
  5. Lake County, IL 336 people · 4.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Milwaukee County, WI 1,401 people · 19% of departures
  2. Kenosha County, WI 1,284 people · 18% of departures
  3. Waukesha County, WI 535 people · 7.4% of departures
  4. Walworth County, WI 396 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Lake County, IL 200 people · 2.8% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025505149
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+214%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 31.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and about 20 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station RACINE BATTEN AP, 2.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year802024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals31.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year202024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year422024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals49°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
42
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
80
90th percentile index
Days above 100
20
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

97 / 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 48% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 99% of measured US counties.

LightningModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, hail, strong wind, inland flooding, winter weather, earthquake, ice storm, drought, landslide, wildfire, coastal flooding, hurricane, 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.

Racine County records 5.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 17.3 per 100,000 residents in Racine County.

Homicide
5.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
17.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.7
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 Racine 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.
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 Chicago O'Hare Intl at 56 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year91.1%Top 19%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle56 miBottom 25%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%Top 19%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD56 mi11,245 ft
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY82 mi8,859 ft
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN83 mi9,006 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
64
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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
Housing, 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.