Salem Lakes, Wisconsin

Area Profile

14,366 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Salem Lakes, in Kenosha County.

72out of 100
Area Score
Top 8% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 8% of 4,199 cities measured80
SchoolsTop 37% of 4,162 cities measured60
Growth3,046th of 4,224 cities measured39
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 4,218 cities measured82
Climate3,530th of 4,225 cities measured60
Physical resilienceTop 1% of 4,226 cities measured99
Access3,448th of 4,226 cities measured78
Economic stabilityTop 25% of 4,226 cities measured70
The quick read

Salem Lakes ranks in the top 8% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $94,819. The unemployment rate is published for Kenosha County, WI, which contains Salem Lakes, rather than for Salem Lakes alone.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.8 students for every teacher.

11 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 10% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
14,366
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$94,819
Top 21% nationally
Density
473/sq mi
30.4 sq mi of land
Median age
43.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Metro area
Nearest major airport
ORD
40 mi · Chicago O'Hare Intl
Median home value
$316,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Kenosha County, WI, which contains Salem Lakes, is 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Kenosha County, WI, which contains Salem Lakes, grew 1.5% over the past year, to 94,355 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsKenosha County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$60,16827th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftKenosha County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$64,89634th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,1612024 ACS 5-Year$94,819Top 21%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,3002024 ACS 5-Year$47,885Top 20%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year6.4%Top 31%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.9 minBottom 23%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year27.1%Top 35%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%41st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentKenosha County, WI’s figureJuly 202694,355Top 43%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Kenosha County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+2.5%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Kenosha County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+1.5%Top 12%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceKenosha County, WI’s figureJuly 202697,80156th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.1%Top 35%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageKenosha, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,490Bottom 16%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageKenosha, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,310Bottom 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Kenosha County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateKenosha County, WI’s figureJuly 20263.5%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.7%70th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202495k83k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $94,819 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 — Kenosha, WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand5,420$46,990
Stockers and Order Fillers2,530$46,030
Retail Salespersons2,280$33,580
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,120$29,070
Cashiers1,870$32,380
Registered Nurses1,730$83,110

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 Kenosha County, WI, which contains this city.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.8 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
44.3%
Top 43% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
47.5%
Top 31% in Wisconsin
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central HighWestosha Central UHS School District1,30918.741%50%
Salem ElementarySalem School District93614.647%40%
Wilmot HighWilmot UHS School District84016.230%42%
Trevor-Wilmot GradeTrevor-Wilmot Consolidated School District45512.357%53%
Riverview ElementarySilver Lake J1 School District44915.062%61%

22.7% 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 1% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 100.5, 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 Kenosha, WI Metro Area is up 54% over five years, and up 8.4% 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 $4,779 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.51% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,402, some 18% above the $1,184 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,402 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,100 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $94,819.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,184 a month.

A median home at $316,100 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $105,700, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
100.5

Prices here run about 1% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Kenosha, 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
25.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,402
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,184
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$316,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Salem Lakes’s median household income of $94,819, 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 Kenosha, WI Metro Area’s figure2023100.5Top 46%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Kenosha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+8.4%98th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Kenosha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+54.4%89th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Kenosha, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+118.6%85th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 35%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year83.2%65th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2852024 ACS 5-Year6,19190th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,092Top 29%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,899Top 38%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,402Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$622024 ACS 5-Year$1,184Bottom 33%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,2332024 ACS 5-Year$316,10074th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2672024 ACS 5-Year$4,77989th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,6722024 ACS 5-Year$105,700Top 23%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year1.51%79th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year25.9%Top 37%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1682024 ACS 5-Year27495th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%79th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%23rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1912024 ACS 5-Year41688th 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

39/ 100
Ranks 3,046 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of a series running from 2022 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 fallen 2% since 2020, to 14,302 in 2024.

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

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 11 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Kenosha County, which contains Salem Lakes, lost 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 $60,168, below the $64,896 of households that moved out.

At 0.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
11
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.8
Bottom 21% nationally
Year over year
+10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202415k14k
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, 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
62%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$60,168
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$64,896
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lake County, IL 1,572 people · 23% of arrivals
  2. Racine County, WI 1,284 people · 19% of arrivals
  3. Cook County, IL 487 people · 7.1% of arrivals
  4. Milwaukee County, WI 438 people · 6.4% of arrivals
  5. Walworth County, WI 293 people · 4.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Racine County, WI 1,684 people · 23% of departures
  2. Lake County, IL 872 people · 12% of departures
  3. Milwaukee County, WI 517 people · 7.1% of departures
  4. Cook County, IL 334 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Walworth County, WI 291 people · 4.0% 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 Kenosha County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025197.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−63%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 31.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and about 11 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station KENOSHA RGNL AP, 10.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year652024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals31.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year112024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year412024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals49°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
65
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

99 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and tornado, with cold wave alone responsible for 39% of it. Cold wave and inland flooding are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 99% of measured US cities.

LightningModerate
TornadoModerate
HailModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Kenosha County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 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 16.1 per 100,000 residents in Kenosha County.

Homicide
3.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.9
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.

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 Salem Lakes (Kenosha County) rather than Salem Lakes itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way 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
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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Chicago O'Hare Intl at 40 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.4%Bottom 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle40 miBottom 18%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year10.4%Bottom 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD40 mi11,245 ft
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY73 mi8,859 ft
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN74 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
72
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Other cities in Kenosha, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
KenoshaKenosha County99,37263Kenosha vs Salem Lakes
Pleasant PrairieKenosha County21,66982Pleasant Prairie vs Salem Lakes

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 Salem Lakes side by side with a similar place.

Salem Lakes vs GermantownSalem Lakes vs Streetsboro

Moving to Salem Lakes 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
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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 Salem Lakes

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Salem Lakes 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 Salem Lakes 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
531689,036$97,035$300,200—
531796,469$94,460$305,800—
531702,134$79,931$284,40071