CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

42.69° N · 88.24° W · GEOID 5510425

Browns Lake

Racine County, Wisconsin · part of the Racine, WI metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_gross_rent

WisconsinBrowns Lake, WIBrowns LakeBrowns Lake

The short answer

Browns Lake is home to 1,827 people. Median household income is $129,196 a year and median rent is $1,080 a month, 10.0% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $334,200, about 2.6x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,080
21% below the median place
Median household income
$129,196
61% above the median place
Median home value
$334,200
5% above the median place
Unemployment
4.4%
10% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Browns Lake

  • 100% of homes are owner-occupied, more than in 99% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 158 Wisconsin places.
  • The median rent takes only 10.0% of the median household's income, a smaller share than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 158 Wisconsin places.
  • The median resident is 53.1 years old, older than in 95% of places its size. It is the 2nd-highest of 158 Wisconsin places.
  • 27% of homes stand vacant, more than in 93% of places its size. It is the highest of 105 Wisconsin places.
  • The median household earns $129,196 a year, more than in 86% of places its size.

Rent is light relative to pay, but the county has a FEMA natural hazard risk score of 85 out of 100. Budget for insurance before counting the savings.

01

Moving to Browns Lake

Racine County gains about 3.0 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in7,783
Moved out7,274
Net+509

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within Wisconsin, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within WisconsinOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$67K
Leavers$63K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Racine County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.6% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 1.3% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Racine County report $67,100 a year in income on average; those leaving, $62,700, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$43,200 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,080 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,835 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $334,200.
Getting to work
26 minutes each way on average; 14.7% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Johnsburg, IL matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
1.3%
35% below the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people6
3.0
above the median place (median -0.6)
Moved here in the past year1
4.6%
19% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureBrowns LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure4.6%19% below
Moved from another state1County figure1.3%35% below
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure3.0above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$67,1425% below
Income of households moving out6County figure$62,74311% below
02

What it costs to live here

Homeownership is 100.0%, 51% above the median place.

Browns Lake10.0%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$43,200
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
10.0%
51% below the median place
Home price to income
2.6x
32% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
10%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$119,900
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Browns Lake, $1,080 a month, and local prices for everything else (96.8 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Browns Lake.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Browns Lake? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Homeownership1
100.0%
51% above the median place
Vacant homes1
27.3%
287% above the median place
Property tax rate1
1.2%
29% above the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureBrowns LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1County figure$1,08021% below
Rent to income110.0%51% below
Property tax rate11.2%29% above
Home price to income12.6x32% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure96.05% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,28321% below
Property tax paid (median)1$3,92120% above
Median home value1$334,2005% above
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure7.9%149% above
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure57.3%11% above
Homeownership1100.0%51% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure43.1%15% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,8352% below
Vacant homes127.3%287% above
Median year built119770% below
03

Work and pay

Income per person is $75,090, 87% above the median place.

Income per person1
$75,090
87% above the median place
Median household income1
$129,196
61% above the median place
Works from home1
14.7%
18% above the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureBrowns LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$129,19661% above
Income per person1$75,09087% above
Unemployment1County figure4.4%10% below
Average annual pay5County figure$64,9282% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure6.2%68% above
Jobs5County figure75,87350% below
Poverty rate1County figure10.3%4% below
Mean commute126 min5% above
Works from home114.7%18% above
Commutes by transit1County figure0.9%2% above
04

Who lives here

Median age is 53.1, 36% above the median place.

Median age1
53.1
36% above the median place
High school or higher1
96.6%
5% above the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
25.4%
21% below the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureBrowns LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,8276646th largest
Median age153.136% above
Bachelor's or higher125.4%21% below
High school or higher196.6%5% above
Household size12.51% below
Born abroad1County figure5.0%44% below
No health insurance1County figure5.7%11% below
Homes with broadband192.3%0% below
05

Life in Browns Lake

58 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents38.3 3.8×
Playgrounds per 10k5.5 −42%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars20.4 −2%
Shops26.1 −14%
Arts, recreation and fitness4.0 −2%
Doctors' offices and clinics17.6 −13%
Child care centers2.3 +0%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools10
51
above the median place (median 9)
Public school students10
25,125
above the median place (median 4,897)
Shops per 10k7
26.1
14% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureBrowns LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10County figure51above (median 9)
Public school students10County figure25,125above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher10County figure14.28% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure20.42% below
Shops per 10k7County figure26.114% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure4.02% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure17.613% below
Child care centers per 10k7County figure2.30% above
Parks per 10k838.3277% above
Playgrounds per 10k85.542% below
Grocery stores per 10k80.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k80.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails80.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi80.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings9County figure58346% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

January average low is 14°F, 43% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Browns Lake. Larger places are fetched first.

January average low11
14°F
43% below the median place
Average temperature11
48°F
13% below the median place
July average high11
82°F
5% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureBrowns LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure82°F5% below
January average low11County figure14°F43% below
Average temperature11County figure48°F13% below
Annual precipitation11County figure35.3 in19% below
Natural hazard risk12County figure85.48% below
Hurricane risk12County figure19.473% below
Tornado risk12County figure93.114% above
Wildfire risk12County figure29.851% below
Heat wave risk12County figure83.08% below
Median air quality index13County figure415% below
Good air days13County figure75.9%11% above
08

Browns Lake in 2030: where the trends point

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median household income$129,196 (2024)$166,000$140,500 to $196,500+4.3%
Median home value$334,200 (2024)$474,000$344,000 to $652,000+6.0%

The median home would be worth 2.9 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.6 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Browns Lake

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Johnsburg, IL$1,128$121,023Compare
White City, FL$1,065$117,720Compare
Clarkston Heights-Vineland, WA$1,125$101,286Compare
Winthrop Harbor, IL$1,313$95,690Compare
Winthrop Harbor, ILClarkston Heights-Vineland, WAWhite City, FLJohnsburg, ILBrowns Lake, WIBrowns LakeJohnsburgWhite CityClarkston Heights-VinelandWinthrop HarborBrowns LakeJohnsburgWhite CityClarkston Heights-VinelandWinthrop Harbor

Common questions

Is Browns Lake a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. 100% of homes are owner-occupied, more than in 99% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 158 Wisconsin places. The median rent takes only 10.0% of the median household's income, a smaller share than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 158 Wisconsin places. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Browns Lake expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 10.0% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $334,200.

What salary do you need to live in Browns Lake?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $43,200 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Browns Lake?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Johnsburg, IL, White City, FL, Clarkston Heights-Vineland, WA and Winthrop Harbor, IL.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  13. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Browns Lake with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Browns Lake itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/browns-lake-wisconsin

Citytistics. “Browns Lake, Wisconsin.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/browns-lake-wisconsin/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.