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Cost of living, pay and housing

42.83° N · 88.16° W · GEOID 5587675

Wind Lake

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

Limited data population under 5,000

WisconsinWind Lake, WIWind LakeWind Lake

The short answer

Wind Lake is home to 4,836 people. Median household income is $102,855 a year and median rent is $1,169 a month, 13.6% 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 $386,100, about 3.8x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,169
14% below the median place
Median household income
$102,855
28% above the median place
Median home value
$386,100
21% above the median place
Unemployment
4.9%
0% above 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 Wind Lake

  • Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 220 hours a year commuting, more than in 89% of the 2,101 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 156 Wisconsin places.
  • The median resident is 50 years old, older than in 92% of places its size.
  • The median rent takes only 13.6% of the median household's income, a smaller share than in 90% of places its size.
  • Household income has grown 2.1% a year across the last five survey releases, slower than in 84% of places its size.
  • 5.7% of residents live below the poverty line, fewer than in 82% 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 Wind 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
$46,800 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,169 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,952 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $386,100.
Getting to work
33 minutes each way on average; 12.3% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Canyon Lake, TX 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
MeasureWind 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

Rent to income is 13.6%, 33% below the median place.

Wind Lake13.6%
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
$46,760
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
13.6%
33% below the median place
Home price to income
3.8x
1% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
14%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$91,900
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Wind Lake, $1,169 a month, and local prices for everything else (96.8 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Wind Lake, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Chesterland, OH9.3% vs 13.6%$9,200Compare

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

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Wind Lake? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Homeownership1
75.4%
14% above the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$4,132
27% above the median place
Median home value1
$386,100
21% above the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureWind LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,16914% below
Rent to income113.6%33% below
Property tax rate11.1%18% above
Home price to income13.8x1% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure96.05% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,28321% below
Property tax paid (median)1$4,13227% above
Median home value1$386,10021% above
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure7.9%149% above
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure57.3%11% above
Homeownership175.4%14% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure43.1%15% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,9524% above
Vacant homes16.0%15% below
Median year built119820% above
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Mean commute1
33 min
32% above the median place
Poverty rate1
5.7%
47% below the median place

More on work and pay, against the typical place

Median household income$102,855 +28%
Income per person$49,486 +23%
Works from home12.3% −1%
Unemployment4.9% +0%
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureWind LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$102,85528% above
Income per person1$49,48623% above
Unemployment14.9%0% above
Average annual pay5County figure$64,9282% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure6.2%68% above
Jobs5County figure75,87350% below
Poverty rate15.7%47% below
Mean commute133 min32% above
Works from home112.3%1% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Median age is 50.0, 28% above the median place.

Median age1
50.0
28% above the median place
Household size1
2.3
10% below the median place
High school or higher1
95.1%
3% above the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureWind LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population14,8366646th largest
Median age150.028% above
Bachelor's or higher131.8%1% below
High school or higher195.1%3% above
Household size12.310% below
Born abroad1County figure5.0%44% below
No health insurance1County figure5.7%11% below
Homes with broadband193.3%1% above
05

Life in Wind 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 residents8.3 −19%
Playgrounds per 10k12.4 +32%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k18.6 +67%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails7 km 3.5×
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
1
89% below the median place
Public school students10
290
94% below the median place
Students per teacher10
13.2
14% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureWind LakeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10189% below
Public school students1029094% below
Students per teacher1013.214% 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 10k88.319% below
Playgrounds per 10k812.432% above
Grocery stores per 10k80.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k818.667% above
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails87.0250% above
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 Wind 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
MeasureWind 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

Wind Lake in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 14% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 14% now.

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 rent$1,169/mo (2024)$1,500/mo$1,230 to $1,820/mo+4.2%
Median household income$102,855 (2024)$129,000$109,000 to $153,000+3.9%
Median home value$386,100 (2024)$550,000$399,000 to $757,000+6.1%

The median home would be worth 4.3 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.8 now.

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

09

Places like Wind Lake

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

PlaceRentIncome
Canyon Lake, TX$1,327$97,301Compare
Halls, TN$1,178$90,933Compare
Sterling, AK$1,248$102,415Compare
Greenville, RI$1,264$97,234Compare
Greenville, RISterling, AKHalls, TNCanyon Lake, TXWind Lake, WIWind LakeCanyon LakeHallsSterlingWind LakeCanyon LakeHallsSterling

Common questions

Is Wind Lake a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 220 hours a year commuting, more than in 89% of the 2,101 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 156 Wisconsin places. The median resident is 50 years old, older than in 92% of places its size. On cost, space and class size it scores 82 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Wind Lake expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 13.6% 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 $386,100.

What salary do you need to live in Wind Lake?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $46,760 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Wind Lake?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Canyon Lake, TX, Halls, TN, Sterling, AK and Greenville, RI.

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

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

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