Grafton, Wisconsin

Area Profile

12,445 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Grafton, in Ozaukee County.

79out of 100
Area Score
Top 2% of 2,944 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 11% of 3,904 cities measured77
SchoolsTop 8% of 2,668 cities measured85
GrowthTop 33% of 2,973 cities measured59
Housing affordabilityTop 26% of 4,223 cities measured93
Climate3450th of 4,223 cities measured61
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 4,182 cities measured97
Access3695th of 4,226 cities measured70
Economic stabilityTop 7% of 4,226 cities measured80
The quick read

Grafton ranks in the top 11% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.1% and median household income of $89,861.

Residential permitting has slowed: 107 units authorized over the past twelve months, 63% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published city profiles, placing Grafton in the top 2% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
12,445
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$89,861
Top 25% nationally
Density
2,335/sq mi
5.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ozaukee County
Wisconsin
Metro area
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Nearest major airport
OSH
55 mi · Wittman Rgnl
Median home value
$328,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1% is lower than 94% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 48,830 employed residents.

47% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 87% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$12,093$89,861Top 25%of 29,5732024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,946$47,360Top 20%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate3.7%Bottom 18%of 31,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.2 minBottom 48%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher47.2%Top 13%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Employment48,830Top 50%of 3,904June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.9%Bottom 35%of 3,903June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.4%Top 22%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force50,407Top 50%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force participation68.7%Top 22%of 31,9332024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$67,440Bottom 47%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,160Bottom 48%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 45%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate3.1%Bottom 6%of 3,904June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202490k78k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $89,861 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 — Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides30,090$37,020
Registered Nurses22,400$97,360
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand19,810$44,840
Retail Salespersons18,850$34,410
Fast Food and Counter Workers17,490$28,440
Cashiers15,050$30,400

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 Ozaukee County, WI, which contains this city.

66% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
66.4%
Top 4% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
54.8%
Top 9% in Wisconsin
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Grafton HighGrafton School District72715.8
Kennedy ElementaryGrafton School District50716.476%54%
Woodview ElementaryGrafton School District50614.974%53%
John Long MiddleGrafton School District45215.647%57%

15.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Wisconsin’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% below the national average, on the Bureau of Economic Analysis index. Housing drives most of that difference.

Median rent of $1,310 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Cost of living
95.7

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

Rent as a share of income
17.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,310
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$328,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index95.7Bottom 29%of 3,6582023
Home price to income3.66Top 33%of 28,4732024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate61.3%Bottom 22%of 31,8432024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2865,769Top 10%of 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$141$1,310Top 27%of 23,4322024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,054$328,800Top 25%of 29,3422024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.5%Bottom 42%of 23,2012024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate3.4%Bottom 21%of 32,0012024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
59/ 100
Top 33% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

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 5% since 2020, reaching 12,741 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 8.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
107
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.6
Top 17% nationally
Year over year
−63%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202413k12k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
20202021202220232024202539659
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+322%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 17°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 34.6 inches, including 48.7 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and about 9 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 MILWAUKEE MITCHELL AP, 25.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index61.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation34.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall48.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low17°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10092024 calendar year
Median air quality index37.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing49°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
9
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. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

97 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hail and lightning.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 72% of measured US cities.

HailModerate
LightningModerate

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

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
70
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
565
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offences, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Grafton's police department reported 70 violent offences per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 565.

Ozaukee County records 2.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most 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, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 9.6 per 100,000 residents in Ozaukee County.

Homicide
2.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
11.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
9.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
13.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Offences are reported to the FBI by Grafton’s own police department, for the population it serves, and are shown only where it reported every month of the year — a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime counts what was reported to and recorded by police, which is not the same as what happened, and a place that draws a large daytime workforce carries incidents its residents did not generate. Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Ozaukee County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Grafton rather than Grafton itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 55 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Wittman RgnlOSH55 mi8,002 ft
Appleton IntlATW71 mi8,003 ft
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN71 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
79
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Other cities in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
MilwaukeeMilwaukee County566,97354vs Grafton
WaukeshaWaukesha County71,23373vs Grafton
West AllisMilwaukee County59,61266vs Grafton
WauwatosaMilwaukee County48,52972vs Grafton
BrookfieldWaukesha County41,27375vs Grafton
New BerlinWaukesha County40,27073vs Grafton
Menomonee FallsWaukesha County39,53980vs Grafton
GreenfieldMilwaukee County37,345vs Grafton
Oak CreekMilwaukee County37,32573vs Grafton
FranklinMilwaukee County35,88676vs Grafton
West BendWashington County32,03073vs Grafton
MuskegoWaukesha County25,40678vs Grafton

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.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
safetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar yearAnnually, with monthly revisions
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

ZIP codes in Grafton

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
5302418,982$92,39079