Portage County, Wisconsin

Portage County has a population of 70,832 and has grown 2.2% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $243,100, about 3.2 times the county's median household income of $76,070.

Home price
$243,100
Income
$76,070
Population
70,832
Unemployment
3.2%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$243,100county
Median gross rent$940county
Median year homes here were built1979county
Share of homes built before 198051.7%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile3.5%county
Share of homes that are vacant6.5%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented30.3%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use2.1%county
Typical monthly rent$1,274county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,037county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$794county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$1,243county
Home insurance / yr$1,812(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living97.7(statewide)
Median household income$76,070county
Family health premium / yr$25,781(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$16,956(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$3.857(statewide)
Poverty rate10.1%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home12.6%county
Unemployment rate3.2%county
Share of adults in the labor force66.3%county
Share of workers who are self-employed4.6%county
Share of workers employed by government13.5%county
Share of workers in the largest industry22.0%county
Economic output per resident$82,397county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate1.44%county
Top state income tax7.65%(statewide)
Capital gains tax5.36%(statewide)
Combined sales tax5.72%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time19.5 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service21 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport90087county
Miles to nearest general aviation field3.3 micounty
Airports with airline service located here0county
General aviation airfields located here1county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station60 micounty
Households without a vehicle3.9%county
Traffic deaths11.3county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,0001.3(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher34.0%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher94.5%county
Public schools in the county28county
Public school enrollment9114county
Students per full-time teacher14.7county
Free lunch eligible35.3%county
Elementary schools14county
Middle schools5county
High schools7county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above1county
Share of local colleges that are public100.0%county
Two-year institutions0county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution3.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians45county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county2county
Hospitals here with an emergency department2county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here4county
Fine particulate matter7.8 µgcounty
Without health insurance4.8%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year11.2%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year10.9%county
Frequent mental distress17.5%county
No leisure-time physical activity22.0%county
Diagnosed diabetes9.6%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population70,832county
Land area in square miles801county
People per square mile of land88.4county
Supermarkets and grocery stores7county
Convenience stores0county
Share living far from a food store13.4%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract10.0%county
Population change since 2020+2.2%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents-2county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents1county
Median age38.0 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1818.8%county
Share of residents 65 and over18.3%county
Share of households that are one person29.6%county
Share of residents born outside the United States3.1%county
Second languages4.8%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls46.5%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents91county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents3county
Households that moved in1,846county
Households that moved away1,793county
Average income of arriving households$58,296county
Average income of departing households$53,282county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes8county
Housing units authorised in the latest year244county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings50.0%county
Violent crime rate279(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature45.3°Fcounty
Annual precipitation31.4 incounty
Annual snowfall65.4 incounty
Average daily solar energy3.71 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F4 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing160 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 5bcounty
Frost-free days149 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMay 10county
Average first fall frostOct 5county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$97county
Electric utilities serving this county5county
Electricity price per kWh16.2¢county
Household electricity use633 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$12.48(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity17.8%county
Homes heated by utility gas56.4%county
Homes heated by propane18.1%county
Homes heated by fuel oil1.7%county
Homes heated by wood4.5%county
Households with broadband92.5%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk66.8county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk18.3county
Landslide risk49.7county
Hail risk83.2county
Earthquake risk17.0county
Tornado risk70.2county
Tropical cyclone risk0.0county
Extreme heat risk43.1county
Winter weather risk55.3county
Strong wind risk65.8county
Wildfire risk32.3county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Portage County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Wisconsin figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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