county

Forest County, WI

Demographic and economic profile of Forest County, WI, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Forest County is a small, rural Wisconsin county of 9,261 residents with an older workforce—median age 49.3—and a low educational attainment rate of 15.5% holding bachelor's degrees, though 90.7% hold a high school diploma. Labor force participation sits at 50.7%, with median worker earnings of $39,107 and an unemployment rate of 3.5%, pointing to a modest but stable employment base. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $170,000 and median gross rent of just $585/month, and the county posted modest population growth of 2.7% over five years against a poverty rate of 15.0%.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

9,261

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$61,071

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

49.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+2.7% since 2018

Forest County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone7,314 (78.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone1,061 (11.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races598 (6.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone184 (2.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race155 (1.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone39 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish62
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic43
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)11
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic9
  5. 5.Arabic5

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

25.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

583

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$35,147

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,994

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance761
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)448
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services441
  4. 4.Public Administration (Group)367
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)348

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,220
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations691
  3. 3.Service Occupations668
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations660
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations492

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.31×)257
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 2.01×)356
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.44×)471
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.41×)366
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.20×)447

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$170,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$585/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

82.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999485 (14.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999336 (10.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999320 (9.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999283 (8.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999271 (8.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999245 (7.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

50.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,107

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,906 (78.8%)
  • Carpooled307 (8.3%)
  • Worked At Home295 (8.0%)
  • Walked147 (4.0%)
  • Other19 (0.5%)
  • Motorcycle11 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.