county

Rusk County, WI

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

AI Overview

Rusk County is a small rural Wisconsin county of 14,146 residents with an economy built around its working-age labor base, where median worker earnings of $36,362 and a median household income of $59,944 reflect modest but stable wage levels. The workforce is largely high-school educated—92.3% hold a diploma or equivalent, while only 16.3% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—and labor force participation sits at 56.2%, consistent with a median age of 49.2 years. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $152,000 and median gross rent of $816/month, though population has edged down 0.3% over five years and unemployment stands at 4.9%.

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

Population

14,146

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$59,944

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

49.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.3% since 2018

Rusk County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone13,275 (93.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race267 (1.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races251 (1.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone164 (1.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone117 (0.8%)
  • Asian Alone52 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic160
  2. 2.Spanish74
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island26
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic20
  5. 5.Other Indo-European9

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

25.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,026

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$37,621

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,642

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)1,514
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,272
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)751
  4. 4.Construction (Group)512
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining398

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,759
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,673
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations919
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations906
  5. 5.Service Occupations862

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.29×)423
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.44×)1,499
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.27×)460
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)732
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.08×)461

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$152,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$816/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999639 (12.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999521 (10.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999488 (9.9%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999412 (8.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999391 (7.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999387 (7.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,362

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,588 (77.5%)
  • Carpooled638 (10.8%)
  • Worked At Home543 (9.2%)
  • Walked101 (1.7%)
  • Other28 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit16 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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More on FDI Connect

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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.