Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Area Profile

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

67out of 100
Area Score
Top 21% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 25% of 4,199 cities measured69
Schools3,158th of 4,162 cities measured29
GrowthTop 33% of 4,224 cities measured58
Housing affordabilityTop 2% of 4,218 cities measured89
Climate4,123rd of 4,225 cities measured53
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 4,226 cities measured96
Access3,275th of 4,226 cities measured81
Economic stability3,002nd of 4,226 cities measured46
The quick read

Manitowoc ranks in the top 25% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $63,757.

In the public schools here, 29% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.1 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 23% of renter income and the median home is 2.1 times what its owners earn.

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
34,620
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,757
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
1,929/sq mi
17.9 sq mi of land
Median age
42.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Micro area
Nearest major airport
GRB
35 mi · Green Bay/Austin Straubel Intl
Median home value
$160,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 2.0% over the past year, to 16,807 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsManitowoc County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,18021st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftManitowoc County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$55,16215th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,5542024 ACS 5-Year$63,757Bottom 46%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0492024 ACS 5-Year$36,474Top 42%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%Bottom 44%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.2 minTop 15%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year24.6%Top 40%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.1%63rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,807Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.3%Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.0%Top 8%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,40817th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.3%Bottom 47%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%84th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Bottom 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.5%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.72.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, 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

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.

29% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 32% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.1 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
29.2%
Bottom 13% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
32.0%
Bottom 17% in Wisconsin
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lincoln HighManitowoc School District1,38514.424%28%
Washington MiddleManitowoc School District56612.625%28%
Wilson MiddleManitowoc School District47811.933%43%
Franklin ElementaryManitowoc School District35610.818%21%
Jefferson ElementaryManitowoc School District34410.427%24%
Jackson ElementaryManitowoc School District33612.446%39%
Riverview ElementaryManitowoc School District2578.935%46%
Riverview Early Learning CenterManitowoc School District23723.7——
Monroe ElementaryManitowoc School District23210.146%41%
Madison ElementaryManitowoc School District2029.637%37%
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, 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin is up 59% over five years, and up 4.9% 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 $2,471 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.54% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 21% above the $804 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 61% of the median household income here of $63,757.

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 $804 a month.

A median home at $160,700 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $75,971, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
22.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$804
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$160,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Manitowoc’s median household income of $63,757, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+4.9%77th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+59.2%95th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+110.3%77th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 37%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year67.6%33rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4292024 ACS 5-Year16,50697th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$742Top 3%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,167Top 2%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$422024 ACS 5-Year$804Top 29%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,9422024 ACS 5-Year$160,70041st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1052024 ACS 5-Year$2,47165th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,6062024 ACS 5-Year$75,971Bottom 46%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year1.54%80th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.6%Top 23%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1182024 ACS 5-Year18393rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.4%52nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3732024 ACS 5-Year1,41296th 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.

Development Momentum

58/ 100
Top 33% 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 34,616 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

Federal tax returns show Manitowoc County, which contains Manitowoc, 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 $57,180, close to the $55,162 of households that moved out.

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 42% 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. It has been holding roughly steady, 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
32%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$57,180
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$55,162
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sheboygan County, WI 433 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Brown County, WI 284 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Calumet County, WI 184 people · 7.5% of arrivals
  4. Milwaukee County, WI 105 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Outagamie County, WI 94 people · 3.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Sheboygan County, WI 304 people · 13% of departures
  2. Brown County, WI 302 people · 13% of departures
  3. Calumet County, WI 196 people · 8.7% of departures
  4. Outagamie County, WI 118 people · 5.2% of departures
  5. Milwaukee County, WI 88 people · 3.9% 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 Manitowoc County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

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 index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals29.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals12°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year112024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year392024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°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. 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

96 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 46% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 98% of measured US cities.

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, 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
162
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
757
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.

Manitowoc's police department reported 162 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 757.

Manitowoc County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.5 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 13.5 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 9.1 per 100,000 residents in Manitowoc County.

Homicide
1.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
22.1
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 Manitowoc’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 Manitowoc (Manitowoc County) rather than Manitowoc 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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Green Bay/Austin Straubel Intl at 35 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year90.8%Top 45%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle35 miBottom 23%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%Top 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
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.

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Area Score
67
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—

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Other cities in Manitowoc, WI

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

Compare

Put Manitowoc side by side with a similar place.

Manitowoc vs SheboyganManitowoc vs Two Rivers

Moving to Manitowoc 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
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 Manitowoc

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Manitowoc with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Manitowoc closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5422040,949$66,035$176,300—