county

Waupaca County, WI

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

AI Overview

Waupaca County is a small, largely rural Wisconsin county with a population of 51,714 that has grown just 0.5% over five years, reflecting a stable but slow-growth economy anchored by a workforce of modest educational attainment — 20.2% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, though 92.0% have completed high school. The labor market is tight, with unemployment at 3.2% and median worker earnings of $44,536, while housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $192,800 and median gross rent of $834 per month supporting a 75.3% homeownership rate. At a median age of 45.3, the county skews older, and a labor force participation rate of 62.2% alongside a GDP per capita of $37,510 points to a cost-competitive but capacity-constrained labor environment.

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

Population

51,714

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$72,830

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

45.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone48,037 (93.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,286 (2.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,055 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone657 (1.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone285 (0.6%)
  • Asian Alone139 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,211
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic420
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island83
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic59
  5. 5.Other Indo-European35

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,136

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$37,510

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$40,581

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)7,562
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,675
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,554
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,652
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,593

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,606
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,347
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations4,799
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,840
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,822

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.92×)7,420
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.04×)833
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 0.96×)2,664
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 0.92×)1,113
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 0.87×)1,543

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$192,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$834/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9992,618 (15.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9992,368 (13.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,837 (10.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,683 (9.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,305 (7.7%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9991,158 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$44,536

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone20,151 (81.2%)
  • Worked At Home1,954 (7.9%)
  • Carpooled1,651 (6.7%)
  • Walked712 (2.9%)
  • Other262 (1.1%)
  • Bicycle27 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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More on FDI Connect

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

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