AreaProfile

53204Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 53204.

57
Area Score
Bottom 32% of 3,833 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity3387th of 4,073 published ZIP areas38
Growth3817th of 3,947 published ZIP areas14
Housing affordabilityTop 42% of 4,553 published ZIP areas81
Climate3723rd of 4,621 published ZIP areas61
Physical resilienceTop 1% of 4,554 published ZIP areas98
Access4372nd of 4,623 published ZIP areas59
Economic stability3877th of 4,591 published ZIP areas38
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published ZIP profiles: unemployment is 4.8% and the Opportunity signal places 53204 in the bottom 17%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 70 units authorized over the past twelve months, 72% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published ZIP profiles, placing 53204 in the top 1% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
39,996
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$45,934
Bottom 10% nationally
Density
12,402/sq mi
3.2 sq mi of land
Median age
29.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
Metro area
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Nearest major airport
MSN
72 mi · Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld
Median home value
$124,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% is lower than 37% of the 4,387 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 255,852 employed residents.

Median household income of $45,934 is below 90% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,578$45,934Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,576$22,500Bottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate32.2%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.1 minBottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher16.3%Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment255,852Top 12%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.2%Bottom 30%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.4%Top 21%June 2026
Labor force268,627Top 12%June 2026
Labor force participation62.5%Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$67,440Top 48%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,160Top 47%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 48%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.8%Top 37%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202446k36k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $45,934 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 does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Milwaukee, WI, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,004 takes 26% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.7 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,004
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$124,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.71Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate26.2%Bottom 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±55615,138Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$45$1,004Bottom 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$20,659$124,300Bottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income26.2%Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.8%Bottom 37%2024 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
14/ 100
Ranks 3817 of 3,947 published city profiles

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.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
70
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 5% nationally
Year over year
−72%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
24.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Milwaukee, WI, the city containing this ZIP code.

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.

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, 4.5 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
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
Seasonal temperature swing49°F1991-2020 Normals

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.

Physical risk

98 / 100
Physical resilience

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

LightningModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 72 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN72 mi9,006 ft
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD72 mi11,245 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH74 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
57
Your Score

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

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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
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)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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.

53204 vs Milwaukee

How this ZIP area compares with Milwaukee as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

53204
Milwaukee
Median household income
$45,934
vs
$54,234
Per capita income
$22,500
vs
$30,994
Population density
12,402/sq mi
vs
5,895/sq mi
Median home value
$124,300
vs
$184,000
Median gross rent
$1,004
vs
$1,059
Homeownership rate
26.2%
vs
41.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher
16.3%
vs
27.4%
Poverty rate
32.2%
vs
22.8%
Median age
29.8
vs
32.4

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.