Best Places54462, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54462, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
54462 ranks 23,342nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54462
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
54462's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54462 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 54462 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Short commute37.8 minutes each way, better than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54462
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54462 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,633, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 54462's effective rate of 0.89%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 54462
54462 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54462.
Who works in 54462, and how
Work in 54462 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 54462
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54462.
What the weather is like in 54462, month by month
54462 sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 16° | 7° |
| April | 52° | 39° | 28° |
| July | 80° | 67° | 54° |
| October | 57° | 45° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 54462
The nearest airport, Rhinelander/Oneida County, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 178 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54462
Schools across 54462 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Elcho ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Antigo MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- Elcho MiddleF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Antigo HighD · 22% proficient
- Elcho HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54462 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54462 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 54462 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54462
Is 54462 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54462 ranks 23,342nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low disaster risk, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54462 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,187. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $77,633 median income, cost of living beats 49% of zip codes.
Is 54462 safe?
Yes, 54462 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $241 per resident a year.
Compare 54462 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54462. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54462 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
54462 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54462: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54462: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54462: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54462: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54462 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.