Port Washington, Wisconsin
Area Profile
12,645 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Port Washington, in Ozaukee County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesPort Washington ranks in the top 17% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $81,948. The unemployment rate is published for Ozaukee County, WI, which contains Port Washington, rather than for Port Washington alone.
Public schools test above most of the state: 55% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 10% of published profiles for schools.
Residential permitting has slowed: 41 units authorized over the past twelve months, 31% 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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Ozaukee County, WI, which contains Port Washington, is 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Ozaukee County, WI, which contains Port Washington, grew 0.8% over the past year, to 49,019 employed residents.
40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 81% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsOzaukee County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $100,849 | 82nd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftOzaukee County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $88,637 | 75th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$9,9492024 ACS 5-Year | $81,948 | Top 31%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,6532024 ACS 5-Year | $44,834 | Top 24%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.6% | Top 31%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 22.9 min | Top 30%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 40.1% | Top 19%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 76.9% | 49th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentOzaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026 | 49,019 | Bottom 46%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Ozaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.2% | Bottom 37%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Ozaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.8% | Top 21%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceOzaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026 | 50,629 | 46th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.4% | Top 42%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageMilwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $67,440 | Bottom 47%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageMilwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $51,160 | Bottom 48%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.8% | 83rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Ozaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.2% | Bottom 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateOzaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.2% | Top 11%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.4% | 72nd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 30,090 | $37,020 |
| Registered Nurses | 22,400 | $97,360 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 19,810 | $44,840 |
| Retail Salespersons | 18,850 | $34,410 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 17,490 | $28,440 |
| Cashiers | 15,050 | $30,400 |
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 Ozaukee County, WI, which contains this city.
55% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 57% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Washington High | Port Washington-Saukville School District | 809 | 14.7 | 42% | 52% |
| Thomas Jefferson Middle | Port Washington-Saukville School District | 677 | 12.3 | 59% | 54% |
| Dunwiddie Elementary | Port Washington-Saukville School District | 324 | 13.0 | 72% | 67% |
| Lincoln Elementary | Port Washington-Saukville School District | 302 | 13.7 | 62% | 67% |
26.1% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.7, 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area is up 52% over five years, and up 6.2% 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 $3,711 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.25% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,338, some 33% above the $1,008 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,338 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $53,500 a year, about 65% of the median household income here of $81,948.
The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,008 a month.
A median home at $296,300 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $110,699, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
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.
Published for the Milwaukee-Waukesha, 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.
The figures above are measured against Port Washington’s median household income of $81,948, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2023 | 95.7 | Top 29%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +6.2% | 88th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +51.9% | 84th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +100.9% | 64th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year | 2.7 | Bottom 44%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 65.8% | 30th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3042024 ACS 5-Year | 5,691 | 90th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,119 | Top 31%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,648 | Top 26%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,338 | Top 30%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$762024 ACS 5-Year | $1,008 | Bottom 46%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$19,1242024 ACS 5-Year | $296,300 | 72nd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1572024 ACS 5-Year | $3,711 | 81st percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$15,5002024 ACS 5-Year | $110,699 | Top 20%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.25% | 66th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.1% | Top 43%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±322024 ACS 5-Year | 26 | 75th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.5% | 56th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.6% | 20th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±642024 ACS 5-Year | 119 | 69th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 3% since 2020, reaching 12,750 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 — 31% below the prior year.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 41 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Ozaukee County, which contains Port Washington, gained about 0.5% 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 $100,849, above the $88,637 of households that moved out.
At 3.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Milwaukee County, WI 1,489 people · 33% of arrivals
- Washington County, WI 510 people · 11% of arrivals
- Waukesha County, WI 339 people · 7.6% of arrivals
- Sheboygan County, WI 261 people · 5.9% of arrivals
- Dane County, WI 96 people · 2.2% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Milwaukee County, WI 866 people · 21% of departures
- Washington County, WI 514 people · 13% of departures
- Waukesha County, WI 305 people · 7.5% of departures
- Sheboygan County, WI 297 people · 7.4% of departures
- Cook County, IL 125 people · 3.1% 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 Ozaukee County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 79°F and January a low of 15°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 33.9 inches, including 42.3 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.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 61 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 33.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 42.3" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 15°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 79°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 4 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 9 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 37 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 47°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
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
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 52% 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 98% of measured US cities.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, winter weather, strong wind, coastal flooding, earthquake, drought, ice storm, wildfire, landslide, hurricane, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.
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.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Port Washington's police department reported 62 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 226.
Ozaukee County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.1 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 about 10.1 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 9.7 per 100,000 residents in Ozaukee County.
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 Port Washington’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 Port Washington (Ozaukee County) rather than Port Washington 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
5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Wittman Rgnl at 53 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year | 92.4% | Top 37%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 53 mi | Bottom 11%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 5 | Top 45%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.5% | Top 40%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wittman Rgnl | OSH | 53 mi | 8,002 ft |
| Appleton Intl | ATW | 68 mi | 8,003 ft |
| Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld | MSN | 75 mi | 9,006 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.
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.
Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.
Other cities in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | Milwaukee County | 566,973 | 51 | Milwaukee vs Port Washington |
| Waukesha | Waukesha County | 71,233 | 70 | Waukesha vs Port Washington |
| West Allis | Milwaukee County | 59,612 | 64 | West Allis vs Port Washington |
| Wauwatosa | Milwaukee County | 48,529 | 71 | |
| Brookfield | Waukesha County | 41,273 | 73 | |
| New Berlin | Waukesha County | 40,270 | 72 | |
| Menomonee Falls | Waukesha County | 39,539 | 77 | |
| Greenfield | Milwaukee County | 37,345 | 61 | |
| Oak Creek | Milwaukee County | 37,325 | 71 | |
| Franklin | Milwaukee County | 35,886 | 72 | |
| West Bend | Washington County | 32,030 | 70 | |
| Muskego | Waukesha County | 25,406 | 72 |
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.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Port Washington side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Port Washington from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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 Port Washington
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Port Washington 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 Port Washington 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.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53074 | 13,682 | $79,423 | $296,600 | — |