Kaukauna, Wisconsin

Area Profile

17,706 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Kaukauna, in Outagamie County.

74out of 100
Area Score
Top 6% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 20% of 4,199 cities measured72
SchoolsTop 30% of 4,162 cities measured65
Growth2,184th of 4,224 cities measured49
Housing affordabilityTop 5% of 4,218 cities measured86
Climate3,870th of 4,225 cities measured57
Physical resilienceTop 1% of 4,226 cities measured98
AccessTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured96
Economic stabilityTop 20% of 4,226 cities measured72
The quick read

Kaukauna ranks in the top 20% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $80,365. The unemployment rate is published for Outagamie County, WI, which contains Kaukauna, rather than for Kaukauna alone.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.8 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 51 units authorized over the past twelve months, 50% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
17,706
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,365
Top 33% nationally
Density
2,150/sq mi
8.2 sq mi of land
Median age
38.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Metro area
Nearest major airport
ATW
13 mi · Appleton Intl
Median home value
$225,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

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

Employment across Outagamie County, WI, which contains Kaukauna, grew 0.9% over the past year, to 104,110 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsOutagamie County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$64,13235th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftOutagamie County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$70,21445th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,0302024 ACS 5-Year$80,365Top 33%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,3132024 ACS 5-Year$43,723Top 25%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%Top 39%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.7 minTop 24%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.1%Top 39%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.7%62nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentOutagamie County, WI’s figureJuly 2026104,110Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Outagamie County, WI’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Outagamie County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.9%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceOutagamie County, WI’s figureJuly 2026107,56458th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.7%Top 19%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAppleton, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,240Bottom 23%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAppleton, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,910Bottom 39%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Outagamie County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateOutagamie County, WI’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%53rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202480k69k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $80,365 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 — Appleton, WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons3,610$34,540
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,150$29,010
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,820$37,010
Cashiers2,750$31,610
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand2,610$43,610
Customer Service Representatives2,540$45,760

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 Outagamie County, WI, which contains this city.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.8 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
47.2%
Top 34% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
47.1%
Top 33% in Wisconsin
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Kaukauna HighKaukauna Area School District1,21016.132%38%
River View SchoolKaukauna Area School District1,16015.154%50%
Freedom HighFreedom Area School District51013.837%47%
Dr H B Tanner ElementaryKaukauna Area School District46615.0——
Quinney ElementaryKaukauna Area School District35915.059%48%
Freedom MiddleFreedom Area School District33913.642%55%
Haen ElementaryKaukauna Area School District32312.047%42%
New Directions Learning Community · charterKaukauna Area School District27016.977%62%
Park Community Charter School · charterKaukauna Area School District25614.267%57%

24.1% 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 6% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.7, 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 Appleton, WI Metro Area is up 57% over five years, and up 5.1% 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 $3,383 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.50% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,236, some 14% above the $1,083 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,236 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $49,400 a year, about 61% of the median household income here of $80,365.

The typical renter household here spends 24% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,083 a month.

A median home at $225,700 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $101,172, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
93.7

Prices here run about 6% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Appleton, 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
24.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,236
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,083
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$225,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Kaukauna’s median household income of $80,365, 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 Appleton, WI Metro Area’s figure202393.7Top 21%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Appleton, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.1%79th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Appleton, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+56.8%92nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Appleton, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+114.4%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 41%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year71.1%40th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3152024 ACS 5-Year7,52392nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$960Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,701Top 29%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,236Top 23%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$542024 ACS 5-Year$1,083Bottom 40%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,5662024 ACS 5-Year$225,70060th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1632024 ACS 5-Year$3,38377th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,8362024 ACS 5-Year$101,172Top 26%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year1.50%78th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.3%Top 30%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±292024 ACS 5-Year1971st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%25th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1292024 ACS 5-Year22580th 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

49/ 100
Ranks 2,184 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 years of 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 7% since 2020, reaching 18,363 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — 50% below the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 18,363 residents in 2024, up 1.2% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

69% of the 51 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 Outagamie County, which contains Kaukauna, 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 $64,132, below the $70,214 of households that moved out.

At 2.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
51
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.9
Top 46% nationally
Year over year
−50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
68.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202418k17k
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
27%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$64,132
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$70,214
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Winnebago County, WI 2,232 people · 24% of arrivals
  2. Brown County, WI 1,108 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Calumet County, WI 929 people · 10% of arrivals
  4. Waupaca County, WI 435 people · 4.7% of arrivals
  5. Milwaukee County, WI 186 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Winnebago County, WI 2,162 people · 25% of departures
  2. Brown County, WI 990 people · 11% of departures
  3. Calumet County, WI 930 people · 11% of departures
  4. Waupaca County, WI 477 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Milwaukee County, WI 256 people · 2.9% 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. This is the figure for Outagamie County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202512665
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+30%).

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 11°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 31.6 inches, including 55.6 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station GREEN BAY, 17.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year572024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals31.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals55.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals11°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals52°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
57
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
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

98 / 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 43% 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 cities.

HailModerate
LightningModerate
Strong windModerate

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

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
145
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
573
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.

Kaukauna's police department reported 145 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 573.

Outagamie County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.1 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 5.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.9 per 100,000 residents in Outagamie County.

Homicide
1.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.5
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Kaukauna’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 Kaukauna (Outagamie County) rather than Kaukauna 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.

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 Appleton Intl at 13 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year90.8%Top 45%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle13 miTop 35%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-Year7.0%Top 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Appleton IntlATW13 mi8,003 ft
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB16 mi8,700 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH25 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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Area Score
74
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Other cities in Appleton, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
AppletonOutagamie County75,02368Appleton vs Kaukauna
MenashaCalumet County18,27376Menasha vs Kaukauna
HarrisonCalumet County13,65874Harrison vs Kaukauna
GreenvilleOutagamie County12,98777
Little ChuteOutagamie County11,75477

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 Kaukauna side by side with a similar place.

Kaukauna vs OnalaskaKaukauna vs Stow

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

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Kaukauna with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5413028,380$89,131$260,60075