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.

74out of 100
Area Score
Top 5% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 17% of 4,199 cities measured74
SchoolsTop 10% of 4,162 cities measured82
GrowthTop 48% of 4,224 cities measured51
Housing affordabilityTop 15% of 4,218 cities measured79
Climate3,949th of 4,225 cities measured55
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 4,226 cities measured97
Access3,703rd of 4,226 cities measured71
Economic stabilityTop 29% of 4,226 cities measured68
The quick read

Port 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

Population
12,645
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$81,948
Top 31% nationally
Density
2,124/sq mi
6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Nearest major airport
OSH
53 mi · Wittman Rgnl
Median home value
$296,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsOzaukee County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$100,84982nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftOzaukee County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$88,63775th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,9492024 ACS 5-Year$81,948Top 31%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,6532024 ACS 5-Year$44,834Top 24%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%Top 31%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.9 minTop 30%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year40.1%Top 19%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%49th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentOzaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 202649,019Bottom 46%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Ozaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Bottom 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Ozaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.8%Top 21%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceOzaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 202650,62946th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.4%Top 42%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMilwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,440Bottom 47%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMilwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,160Bottom 48%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Ozaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateOzaukee County, WI’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%72nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202482k70k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $81,948 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

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.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
54.9%
Top 22% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
57.1%
Top 11% in Wisconsin
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Port Washington HighPort Washington-Saukville School District80914.742%52%
Thomas Jefferson MiddlePort Washington-Saukville School District67712.359%54%
Dunwiddie ElementaryPort Washington-Saukville School District32413.072%67%
Lincoln ElementaryPort Washington-Saukville School District30213.762%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.

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.

Cost of living
95.7

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.

Rent as a share of income
27.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,338
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,008
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$296,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure202395.7Top 29%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.2%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+51.9%84th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+100.9%64th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 44%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year65.8%30th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3042024 ACS 5-Year5,69190th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,119Top 31%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,648Top 26%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,338Top 30%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$762024 ACS 5-Year$1,008Bottom 46%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,1242024 ACS 5-Year$296,30072nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1572024 ACS 5-Year$3,71181st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$15,5002024 ACS 5-Year$110,699Top 20%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year1.25%66th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year27.1%Top 43%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±322024 ACS 5-Year2675th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%56th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%20th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±642024 ACS 5-Year11969th 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

51/ 100
Top 48% 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 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.

Units permitted
41
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.2
Top 42% nationally
Year over year
−31%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202413k12k
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 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
28%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$100,849
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$88,637
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Milwaukee County, WI 1,489 people · 33% of arrivals
  2. Washington County, WI 510 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Waukesha County, WI 339 people · 7.6% of arrivals
  4. Sheboygan County, WI 261 people · 5.9% of arrivals
  5. Dane County, WI 96 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Milwaukee County, WI 866 people · 21% of departures
  2. Washington County, WI 514 people · 13% of departures
  3. Waukesha County, WI 305 people · 7.5% of departures
  4. Sheboygan County, WI 297 people · 7.4% of departures
  5. 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

20202021202220232024202511222
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−46%).

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.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PORT WASHINGTON, 1.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals42.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals15°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year92024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
9
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

97 / 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 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.

HailModerate
LightningModerate

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.

Violent crime
62
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
226
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.

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.

Homicide
2.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
9.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
11.8
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 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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year92.4%Top 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle53 miBottom 11%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%Top 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Wittman RgnlOSH53 mi8,002 ft
Appleton IntlATW68 mi8,003 ft
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN75 mi9,006 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.

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Area Score
74
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—

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Other cities in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
MilwaukeeMilwaukee County566,97351Milwaukee vs Port Washington
WaukeshaWaukesha County71,23370Waukesha vs Port Washington
West AllisMilwaukee County59,61264West Allis vs Port Washington
WauwatosaMilwaukee County48,52971
BrookfieldWaukesha County41,27373
New BerlinWaukesha County40,27072
Menomonee FallsWaukesha County39,53977
GreenfieldMilwaukee County37,34561
Oak CreekMilwaukee County37,32571
FranklinMilwaukee County35,88672
West BendWashington County32,03070
MuskegoWaukesha County25,40672

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 Port Washington side by side with a similar place.

Port Washington vs CedarburgPort Washington vs Grafton

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 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 Port Washington

1 ZIP area

Every 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.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5307413,682$79,423$296,600—