Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Area Profile

34,620 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Manitowoc, in Manitowoc County.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 20% of 2,944 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 20% of 3,904 cities measured72
Schools2039th of 2,668 cities measured31
GrowthTop 36% of 2,973 cities measured58
Housing affordabilityTop 8% of 4,223 cities measured100
Climate4121st of 4,223 cities measured53
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 4,182 cities measured96
Access3233rd of 4,226 cities measured81
Economic stability2930th of 4,226 cities measured49
The quick read

Manitowoc ranks in the top 20% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $63,757.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles: rent takes 15% of median household income and the median home is 2.5 times it.

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

At a glance

Population
34,620
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,757
Bottom 45% nationally
Density
1,929/sq mi
17.9 sq mi of land
Median age
42.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Manitowoc County
Wisconsin
Metro area
Manitowoc, WI
Nearest major airport
GRB
35 mi · Green Bay/Austin Straubel Intl
Median home value
$160,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.3% is lower than 89% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment grew 1.3% over the past year, to 17,068 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,554$63,757Bottom 45%of 29,5732024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,049$36,474Top 42%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.6%Top 44%of 31,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute19.2 minBottom 15%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.6%Top 40%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Employment17,068Bottom 19%of 3,904June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.5%Top 41%of 3,903June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.3%Top 10%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force17,652Bottom 19%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force participation61.0%Top 49%of 31,9332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 49%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate3.3%Bottom 11%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.22.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.3% in June 2026. 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
202120222023202464k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $63,757 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.

24% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 27% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.1 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
23.6%
Bottom 15% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
27.5%
Bottom 18% in Wisconsin
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lincoln HighManitowoc School District1,38514.4
Washington MiddleManitowoc School District56612.612%22%
Wilson MiddleManitowoc School District47811.922%32%
Franklin ElementaryManitowoc School District35610.821%26%
Jefferson ElementaryManitowoc School District34410.417%19%
Jackson ElementaryManitowoc School District33612.437%35%
Riverview ElementaryManitowoc School District2578.935%31%
Riverview Early Learning CenterManitowoc School District23723.7
Monroe ElementaryManitowoc School District23210.136%33%
Madison ElementaryManitowoc School District2029.625%25%
McKinley Academy · charterManitowoc School District595.9

51.4% 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 →

Median rent of $804 takes 15% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.5 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
15.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$804
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$160,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income2.52Bottom 38%of 28,4732024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate67.6%Bottom 33%of 31,8432024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±42916,506Top 3%of 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$42$804Bottom 29%of 23,4322024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,942$160,700Bottom 41%of 29,3422024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income15.1%Bottom 25%of 23,2012024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate8.6%Bottom 45%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
58/ 100
Top 36% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 3 consecutive years, 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 34,616 in 2024.

Permit activity has risen for 3 consecutive years.

At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
68
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.0
Bottom 46% nationally
Year over year
+66%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
51.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202435k35k
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
20202021202220232024202514918
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+239%).

Weather & climate

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

Normal annual precipitation is 29.4 inches.

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 SHEBOYGAN CO MEM AP, 24.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index64.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation29.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low12°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 100112024 calendar year
Median air quality index39.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing50°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. 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

96 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, hail and tornado.

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.

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.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Manitowoc County records 1.5 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 13.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.4 per 100,000 residents in Manitowoc County.

Homicide
1.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
8.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
23.4
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.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc rather than Manitowoc 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.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. 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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 35 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB35 mi8,700 ft
Appleton IntlATW43 mi8,003 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH44 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
70
Your Score

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Manitowoc, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Two RiversManitowoc County11,23167vs Manitowoc

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
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)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
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)
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 Manitowoc

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
5422040,949$66,03570