St. Croix County, WI

County Profile

96,033 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for St. Croix 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.

80out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 3% of 1,463 counties measured84
SchoolsTop 6% of 1,377 counties measured87
GrowthTop 5% of 1,453 counties measured79
Housing affordabilityTop 7% of 1,462 counties measured86
Climate1,423rd of 1,463 counties measured50
Physical resilienceTop 16% of 1,463 counties measured83
Access783rd of 1,463 counties measured80
Economic stabilityTop 2% of 1,463 counties measured96
The quick read

St. Croix County ranks in the top 3% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $103,046.

Public schools test above most of the state: 56% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 6% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 644 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 30% 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
96,033
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$103,046
Top 4% nationally
Density
133/sq mi
722.2 sq mi of land
Median age
40.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
St. Croix County
Wisconsin
Nearest major airport
MSP
39 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$377,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5%, lower than in 74% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 2.5% over the past year, to 53,899 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $103,046 is higher than in 96% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$90,65289th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$72,23280th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,5452024 ACS 5-Year$103,046Top 4%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9782024 ACS 5-Year$50,302Top 7%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$70,480Top 17%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%Top 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.0 minBottom 29%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year39.5%Top 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.7%27th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202653,899Top 37%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.9%Top 28%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.5%Top 8%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202655,82962nd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year85.2%Top 6%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%36th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Bottom 27%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.5%Top 26%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year16.5%91st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.92.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% 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

2021202220232024103k91k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $103,046 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 — Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides93,560$38,860
Retail Salespersons51,180$36,670
General and Operations Managers44,890$103,570
Registered Nurses43,600$103,040
Customer Service Representatives38,630$49,480
Fast Food and Counter Workers37,920$33,040

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.

56% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.3 students for every full-time teacher across 25 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
28
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.3
across 25 of them
Math proficiency
56.4%
Top 6% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
51.6%
Top 6% in Wisconsin
The 12 largest of 28 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Hudson HighHudson School District1,69715.746%46%
Hudson MiddleHudson School District1,08913.850%56%
New Richmond HighNew Richmond School District1,04715.957%52%
Greenfield ElementaryBaldwin-Woodville Area School District77015.763%52%
New Richmond MiddleNew Richmond School District72913.860%54%
Saint Croix Central ElementarySaint Croix Central School District62913.157%54%
Somerset ElementarySomerset School District57716.553%45%
New Richmond Hillside ElementaryNew Richmond School District57014.371%57%
New Richmond Starr ElementaryNew Richmond School District55512.969%46%
Baldwin-Woodville HighBaldwin-Woodville Area School District53316.257%42%
Saint Croix Central HighSaint Croix Central School District48614.337%57%
Hudson Prairie ElementaryHudson School District48115.077%67%

21.2% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 104.3, 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area is up 27% over five years, and up 2.6% 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 $4,420 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.17% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,709, some 34% above the $1,271 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,709 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $68,400 a year, about 66% of the median household income here of $103,046.

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 $1,271 a month.

A median home at $377,700 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $116,974, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
104.3

Prices here run about 4% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-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
23.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,709
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,271
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$377,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against St. Croix County’s median household income of $103,046, 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2023104.3Bottom 15%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.6%27th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+27.3%6th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+72.6%18th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 23%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%72nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±922024 ACS 5-Year38,95379th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,405Bottom 18%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,262Bottom 14%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,709Bottom 17%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$782024 ACS 5-Year$1,271Bottom 14%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,5562024 ACS 5-Year$377,70089th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$792024 ACS 5-Year$4,42095th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,7602024 ACS 5-Year$116,974Top 6%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year1.17%76th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.1%Top 15%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2332024 ACS 5-Year50259th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%31st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%1st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3262024 ACS 5-Year1,44243rd 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

79/ 100
Top 5% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, 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 4% since 2020, reaching 97,954 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 450 units authorized in 2025, up 9% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 97,954 residents in 2024, up 0.8% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 644 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 20% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show St. Croix 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 $90,652, above the $72,232 of households that moved out.

At 6.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
644
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.7
Top 17% nationally
Year over year
+30%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
19.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202498k94k
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 4 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
65%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$90,652
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$72,232
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Washington County, MN 837 people · 19% of arrivals
  2. Pierce County, WI 563 people · 13% of arrivals
  3. Ramsey County, MN 346 people · 7.7% of arrivals
  4. Polk County, WI 332 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  5. Hennepin County, MN 273 people · 6.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Pierce County, WI 604 people · 14% of departures
  2. Washington County, MN 430 people · 10% of departures
  3. Polk County, WI 349 people · 8.3% of departures
  4. Ramsey County, MN 311 people · 7.4% of departures
  5. Hennepin County, MN 200 people · 4.8% 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

202020212022202320242025742411
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−39%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 79°F and January a low of 2°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.0 inches, including 43.4 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 BALDWIN, 5.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals43.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals2°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals58°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

83 / 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 44% 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 84% of measured US counties.

Strong windHigh
HailElevated
TornadoElevated
LightningModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

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.

St. Croix County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.5 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 11.4 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 8.5 per 100,000 residents in St. Croix County.

Homicide
2.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
11.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
14.5
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.

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 St. Croix 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.
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 Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain at 39 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year93.4%Top 7%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle39 miBottom 44%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%Top 8%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP39 mi11,006 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU48 mi8,101 ft
Rochester IntlRST77 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
80
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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
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.