54403 — Wausau, Wisconsin

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 54403. Its median home value runs 15% above Wausau as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 39% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 24% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured67
SchoolsTop 46% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured54
Growth2,801st of 3,124 ZIP areas measured26
Housing affordabilityTop 39% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured72
Climate3,055th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured54
Physical resilienceTop 15% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured85
Access2,940th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured59
Economic stabilityTop 45% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured57
The quick read

54403 ranks in the top 24% of ZIP areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $69,030. The unemployment rate is published for Wausau, WI, which contains 54403, rather than for 54403 alone.

In the public schools here, 37% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 20 units authorized over the past twelve months, 83% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Wausau, WI, which contains 54403, rather than for 54403 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
24,950
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$69,030
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
187/sq mi
133.6 sq mi of land
Median age
39.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Wausau
Wisconsin
Metro area
Nearest major airport
ATW
72 mi · Appleton Intl
Median home value
$192,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Wausau, WI, which contains 54403, is 3.3%, lower than in 86% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Wausau, WI, which contains 54403, grew 0.3% over the past year, to 19,909 employed residents.

34% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMarathon County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$61,76838th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMarathon County, WI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,88044th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,6862024 ACS 5-Year$69,030Bottom 46%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,7902024 ACS 5-Year$39,420Top 41%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%Bottom 44%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.4 minTop 12%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year34.4%Top 27%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.7%41st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentWausau, WI’s figureJuly 202619,909Bottom 19%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Wausau, WI’s figureJuly 20260.0%Top 49%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Wausau, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Top 31%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceWausau, WI’s figureJuly 202620,58718th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.9%Top 34%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageWausau, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,120Bottom 23%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageWausau, WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,790Bottom 39%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%78th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Wausau, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Bottom 35%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateWausau, WI’s figureJuly 20263.3%Top 14%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.5%67th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202469k60k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $69,030 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 — Wausau, WI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators2,110$45,670
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,840$43,460
Registered Nurses1,830$89,190
Cashiers1,660$30,480
Retail Salespersons1,660$34,160
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,460$58,520

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 does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Wausau, WI, the city containing this ZIP code.

37% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 43% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.7 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
36.8%
Bottom 38% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
42.8%
Top 40% in Wisconsin
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
East HighWausau School District89314.226%46%
Horace Mann MiddleWausau School District63513.542%47%
Riverview ElementaryWausau School District44516.552%47%
John Marshall ElementaryWausau School District23112.252%47%
Hawthorn Hills ElementaryWausau School District22712.617%17%
Franklin ElementaryWausau School District18110.632%27%
Wausau Area Montessori Charter School · charterWausau School District12117.342%47%
Hewitt-Texas ElementaryWausau School District8514.257%47%
Enrich Excel Achieve Learning Academy · charterWausau School District387.610%30%

48.6% 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 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 90.7, 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 Wausau, WI Metro Area is up 55% over five years, and up 5.2% 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 $3,377 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.75% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,147, some 14% above the $1,009 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,147 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,900 a year, about 66% of the median household income here of $69,030.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,009 a month.

A median home at $192,600 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $88,116, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
90.7

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Wausau, 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
30.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,147
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,009
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$192,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 54403’s median household income of $69,030, 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 Wausau, WI Metro Area’s figure202390.7Top 14%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Wausau, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.2%82nd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Wausau, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+55.4%88th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Wausau, WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+99.0%55th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 29%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year65.0%21st percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4242024 ACS 5-Year11,08386th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$889Top 17%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,511Top 24%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,147Top 21%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$612024 ACS 5-Year$1,009Top 50%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,2592024 ACS 5-Year$192,60042nd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1452024 ACS 5-Year$3,37774th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,1772024 ACS 5-Year$88,116Top 43%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year1.75%90th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year30.5%Bottom 37%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±742024 ACS 5-Year5263rd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%40th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%35th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2152024 ACS 5-Year58477th percentileof 33,7722024 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

26/ 100
Ranks 2,801 of 3,124 published ZIP 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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 20 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Wausau, WI, which contains 54403, rather than for 54403 alone.

At 0.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Wausau, WI, which contains 54403, rather than for 54403 alone.

Units permitted
20
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.5
Bottom 13% nationally
Year over year
−83%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
33%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$61,768
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,880
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Wood County, WI 405 people · 9.3% of arrivals
  2. Lincoln County, WI 294 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  3. Portage County, WI 247 people · 5.6% of arrivals
  4. Clark County, WI 232 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  5. Dane County, WI 143 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Wood County, WI 442 people · 9.7% of departures
  2. Lincoln County, WI 322 people · 7.0% of departures
  3. Portage County, WI 291 people · 6.4% of departures
  4. Clark County, WI 226 people · 4.9% of departures
  5. Dane County, WI 202 people · 4.4% 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 Marathon County, WI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

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

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 7°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.9 inches, including 64.3 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WAUSAU DWTN AP, 8.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals64.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals7°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals55°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
53
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
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

85 / 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 48% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 85% of measured US ZIP areas.

LightningModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate
TornadoModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, heat wave, landslide, ice storm, wildfire, earthquake, hurricane, drought, avalanche, coastal flooding, 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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

Homicide
2.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
24.5
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.

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 54403 (Marathon County) rather than 54403 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Wausau carries the figure where its department reported a full year. 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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Appleton Intl at 72 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.3%Bottom 40%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle72 miBottom 5%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 40%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%Bottom 44%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Appleton IntlATW72 mi8,003 ft
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB78 mi8,700 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH86 mi8,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
61
Your Score
—

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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.

54403 vs Wausau

How this ZIP area compares with Wausau as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

54403
Wausau
Median household income: 54403 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$69,030
vs
$64,389
Per capita income: 54403 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$39,420
vs
$35,957
Population density
187/sq mi
vs
2,080/sq mi
Median home value
$192,600
vs
$167,900
Median gross rent: 54403 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,009
vs
$1,010
Homeownership rate
65.0%
vs
57.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 54403 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
34.4%
vs
30.9%
Poverty rate: 54403 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
11.4%
vs
14.2%
Median age
39.6
vs
38.2

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