Stoughton, Wisconsin

Area Profile

13,033 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Stoughton, in Dane County.

73out of 100
Area Score
Top 7% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 17% of 4,199 cities measured74
Schools2,149th of 4,162 cities measured49
GrowthTop 22% of 4,224 cities measured65
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 4,218 cities measured82
Climate3,845th of 4,225 cities measured57
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 4,226 cities measured96
AccessTop 43% of 4,226 cities measured94
Economic stabilityTop 22% of 4,226 cities measured71
The quick read

Stoughton ranks in the top 17% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.9% and median household income of $79,551. The unemployment rate is published for Dane County, WI, which contains Stoughton, rather than for Stoughton alone.

In the public schools here, 39% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.4 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 6,278 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 19% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Dane County, WI, which contains Stoughton, rather than for Stoughton alone.

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
13,033
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$79,551
Top 34% nationally
Density
2,115/sq mi
6.2 sq mi of land
Median age
39.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wisconsin
Metro area
Nearest major airport
MSN
16 mi · Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld
Median home value
$293,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Dane County, WI, which contains Stoughton, is 2.9%, lower than in 95% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Dane County, WI, which contains Stoughton, fell 0.1% over the past year, to 333,085 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 81% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDane County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,43436th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDane County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$77,33959th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$11,1702024 ACS 5-Year$79,551Top 34%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,6212024 ACS 5-Year$44,915Top 24%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year6.8%Top 32%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.2 minTop 36%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year39.3%Top 19%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year71.3%31st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentDane County, WI’s figureJuly 2026333,085Top 24%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Dane County, WI’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Dane County, WI’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Top 36%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceDane County, WI’s figureJuly 2026343,00176th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.7%Top 18%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMadison, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$70,990Top 42%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMadison, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$58,080Top 27%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%75th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Dane County, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Bottom 32%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateDane County, WI’s figureJuly 20262.9%Top 5%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year17.5%81st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202480k67k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $79,551 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 — Madison, WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses10,650$101,190
Fast Food and Counter Workers9,180$29,820
Home Health and Personal Care Aides8,360$37,220
Retail Salespersons8,330$35,830
Cashiers7,960$34,550
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand7,130$44,190

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 Dane County, WI, which contains this city.

39% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.4 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
38.6%
Bottom 31% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
42.0%
Bottom 49% in Wisconsin
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Stoughton HighStoughton Area School District8349.829%36%
River Bluff MiddleStoughton Area School District56912.436%49%
Fox Prairie ElementaryStoughton Area School District44314.347%37%
Sandhill ElementaryStoughton Area School District41114.254%50%
Kegonsa ElementaryStoughton Area School District30414.537%42%
Sasd 4kStoughton Area School District17419.3——

26.9% 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 95.9, 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 Madison, WI Metro Area is up 49% 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 $5,216 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.78% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,694, some 46% above the $1,157 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,694 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $67,800 a year, about 85% of the median household income here of $79,551.

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 $1,157 a month.

A median home at $293,500 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $102,844, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
95.9

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 Madison, 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
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,694
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,157
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$293,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Stoughton’s median household income of $79,551, 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 Madison, WI Metro Area’s figure202395.9Top 31%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Madison, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.9%77th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Madison, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.0%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Madison, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+96.6%56th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 38%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year66.7%31st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2952024 ACS 5-Year5,79690th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,482Bottom 45%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,236Bottom 48%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,694Bottom 49%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$482024 ACS 5-Year$1,157Bottom 34%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$21,6732024 ACS 5-Year$293,50071st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4232024 ACS 5-Year$5,21690th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,1582024 ACS 5-Year$102,844Top 25%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.19%2024 ACS 5-Year1.78%88th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year25.9%Top 37%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±302024 ACS 5-Year1971st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%38th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1772024 ACS 5-Year30284th 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

65/ 100
Top 22% of 4,224 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.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 13,134 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 13,134 residents in 2024, up 1.0% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before. That recent rise has not yet made up the 0% decline since 2020.

76% of the 6,278 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Dane County, WI, which contains Stoughton, rather than for Stoughton alone.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Dane County, which contains Stoughton, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $65,434, below the $77,339 of households that moved out.

At 11.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Dane County, WI, which contains Stoughton, rather than for Stoughton alone.

Units permitted
6,278
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
11.0
Top 10% nationally
Year over year
+19%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
75.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202413k13k
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
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
60%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,434
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$77,339
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cook County, IL 1,046 people · 4.7% of arrivals
  2. Milwaukee County, WI 935 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  3. Rock County, WI 858 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  4. Columbia County, WI 638 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  5. Jefferson County, WI 552 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Rock County, WI 1,210 people · 5.5% of departures
  2. Columbia County, WI 925 people · 4.2% of departures
  3. Milwaukee County, WI 918 people · 4.2% of departures
  4. Cook County, IL 916 people · 4.2% of departures
  5. Jefferson County, WI 672 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 Dane County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Stoughton, WI is not one. This is the figure for Dane County, WI, which contains this city.

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 12°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.1 inches, including 51.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MADISON DANE RGNL AP, 16.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals51.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals12°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year422024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals52°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
42
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
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 tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 46% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave 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 98% of measured US cities.

HailModerate
TornadoModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, inland flooding, winter weather, strong wind, lightning, landslide, ice storm, earthquake, wildfire, drought, hurricane, avalanche, tsunami, coastal flooding, 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
91
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,165
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.

Stoughton's police department reported 91 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,165.

Dane County records 1.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.9 per 100,000 residents in Dane County.

Homicide
1.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.5
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 Stoughton’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 Stoughton (Dane County) rather than Stoughton 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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dane County Rgnl/Truax Fld at 16 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year90.7%Top 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle16 miTop 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%Top 39%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dane County Rgnl/Truax FldMSN16 mi9,006 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH81 mi8,002 ft
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD94 mi11,245 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
73
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Other cities in Madison, WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
MadisonDane County278,00173Madison vs Stoughton
Sun PrairieDane County37,57074Sun Prairie vs Stoughton
FitchburgDane County32,61977Fitchburg vs Stoughton
MiddletonDane County22,30180
WaunakeeDane County15,68783
VeronaDane County15,23278
OregonDane County11,54775
DeForestDane County11,50179
MonroeGreen County10,58773
PortageColumbia County10,23661

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 Stoughton side by side with a similar place.

Stoughton vs WickliffeStoughton vs Miamisburg

Moving to Stoughton 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 Stoughton

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Stoughton with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5358919,550$96,226$341,00074