county

Lafayette County, WI

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

AI Overview

Lafayette County is a small, agriculture-rooted rural county of 16,788 residents with a labor force participation rate of 65.4% and an unemployment rate of 2.5%, reflecting a tight, predominantly blue-collar workforce where just 20.6% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median worker earnings of $42,895 and a median household income of $76,462 sit alongside low housing costs—median home value of $182,100 and median gross rent of $835/month—with an 80.2% homeownership rate underscoring the area's affordability. Population growth was essentially flat at +0.3% over five years, and a GDP per capita of $40,242 against a per capita income of $34,686 points to a modest but stable local economy.

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

Population

16,788

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$76,462

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,422 (91.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race760 (4.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone345 (2.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races210 (1.2%)
  • Asian Alone123 (0.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone62 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish653
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic429
  3. 3.Other Indo-European81
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)45
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island17

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

737

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$40,242

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,686

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,647
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,496
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining1,023
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)962
  5. 5.Construction (Group)816

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,902
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,611
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,461
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,394
  5. 5.Service Occupations989

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 8.33×)1,111
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.92×)1,594
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.24×)718
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.10×)1,000
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.00×)192

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$182,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$835/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999655 (12.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999629 (11.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999619 (11.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999562 (10.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999544 (10.0%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999420 (7.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

65.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$42,895

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,186 (75.0%)
  • Worked At Home1,036 (12.6%)
  • Carpooled583 (7.1%)
  • Walked290 (3.5%)
  • Other127 (1.5%)
  • Taxi10 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Lafayette County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

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