54494 — Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 54494. Its median home value runs 38% above Wisconsin Rapids as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

59out of 100
Area Score
Top 46% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 11 sources
OpportunityTop 30% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured64
Schools1,781st of 3,047 ZIP areas measured44
Growth2,848th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured24
Housing affordabilityTop 6% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured85
Climate3,007th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured54
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Access2,818th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured67
Economic stabilityTop 44% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured58
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.6% and median household income $72,595, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Wisconsin Rapids, WI, which contains 54494, rather than for 54494 alone.

In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 14 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 18 the year before. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Wisconsin Rapids, WI, which contains 54494, rather than for 54494 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
27,696
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,595
Top 49% nationally
Density
221/sq mi
125.3 sq mi of land
Median age
46.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Wisconsin Rapids
Wisconsin
Nearest major airport
ATW
60 mi · Appleton Intl
Median home value
$181,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Wisconsin Rapids, WI, which contains 54494, is 3.6%, lower than in 78% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Wisconsin Rapids, WI, which contains 54494, grew 2.0% over the past year, to 34,726 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,5192024 ACS 5-Year$72,595Top 49%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2672024 ACS 5-Year$39,828Top 40%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%Top 42%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.8 minTop 28%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.9%Bottom 49%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.4%71st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentWisconsin Rapids, WI’s figureJuly 202634,726Bottom 38%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Wisconsin Rapids, WI’s figureJuly 2026−1.5%Bottom 32%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Wisconsin Rapids, WI’s figureJuly 2026+2.0%Top 9%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceWisconsin Rapids, WI’s figureJuly 202636,04037th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.6%Top 40%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%63rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Wisconsin Rapids, WI’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Bottom 34%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateWisconsin Rapids, WI’s figureJuly 20263.6%Top 22%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%47th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,595 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Wisconsin Rapids, WI, the city containing this ZIP code.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.7 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
35.0%
Bottom 33% in Wisconsin
Reading proficiency
39.9%
Bottom 47% in Wisconsin
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lincoln HighWisconsin Rapids School District1,33717.127%38%
Woodside ElementaryWisconsin Rapids School District35413.637%47%
Howe ElementaryWisconsin Rapids School District33611.632%32%
Washington ElementaryWisconsin Rapids School District32212.947%47%
Grant ElementaryWisconsin Rapids School District26714.157%47%
WRPS / Pitsch Early LearningWisconsin Rapids School District20820.8——
Grove ElementaryWisconsin Rapids School District1789.942%32%
River Cities HighWisconsin Rapids School District7719.3——

46.1% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin is up 59% 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 $2,695 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.48% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, close to the $931 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 54% of the median household income here of $72,595.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $931 a month.

A median home at $181,700 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $81,575, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
24.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$931
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$181,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 54494’s median household income of $72,595, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+4.9%79th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+59.2%95th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Wisconsin’s figure2026 Q2+110.3%74th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 31%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.7%47th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4882024 ACS 5-Year13,10989th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$742Top 4%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,220Top 4%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 6%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1042024 ACS 5-Year$931Top 41%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,4052024 ACS 5-Year$181,70039th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$832024 ACS 5-Year$2,69565th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,1092024 ACS 5-Year$81,575Bottom 48%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year1.48%82nd percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year24.6%Top 30%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1682024 ACS 5-Year25388th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%58th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%46th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3222024 ACS 5-Year1,08089th 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.

Development Momentum

24/ 100
Ranks 2,848 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 14 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Wisconsin Rapids, WI, which contains 54494, rather than for 54494 alone.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Wisconsin Rapids, WI, which contains 54494, rather than for 54494 alone.

Units permitted
14
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 17% nationally
Year over year
−22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Wisconsin Rapids, 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 82°F and January a low of 8°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 31.3 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WISCONSIN RAPIDS ALEXANDER FLD, 5.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals31.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals8°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals54°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

74 / 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 50% 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 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

HailElevated
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, strong wind, heat wave, wildfire, ice storm, landslide, earthquake, drought, hurricane, 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
2.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
21.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
25.7
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 54494 (Wood County) rather than 54494 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. Wisconsin Rapids 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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this 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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Appleton Intl at 60 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year90.8%Top 43%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle60 miBottom 8%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.7%Top 50%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Appleton IntlATW60 mi8,003 ft
Wittman RgnlOSH63 mi8,002 ft
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB80 mi8,700 ft

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

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
59
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
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.

54494 vs Wisconsin Rapids

How this ZIP area compares with Wisconsin Rapids 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.

54494
Wisconsin Rapids
Median household income: 54494 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$72,595
vs
$55,253
Per capita income: 54494 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$39,828
vs
$31,275
Population density
221/sq mi
vs
1,347/sq mi
Median home value
$181,700
vs
$131,900
Median gross rent: Wisconsin Rapids is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$931
vs
$888
Homeownership rate
77.7%
vs
56.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 54494 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
22.9%
vs
18.1%
Poverty rate: 54494 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
8.8%
vs
14.2%
Median age
46.1
vs
38.3

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.