Best Places54474, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54474, 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.
54474 ranks 3,484th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 54474
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.
54474's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54474 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute15.4 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 54474 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 29% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54474
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54474 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,388, 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 54474's effective rate of 1.53%, 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 54474
54474 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54474.
Who works in 54474, and how
Work in 54474 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 54474
54474 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 54474 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 54474, month by month
54474 sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 12° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 58° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 54474
The nearest airport, Central Wisconsin, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 159 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54474
Schools across 54474 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rib Mountain ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- South Mountain ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Evergreen ElementaryB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- John Muir MiddleB · 43% proficient
- D C Everest MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- West HighC · 34% proficient
- D C Everest HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54474 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54474 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 54474 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54474
Is 54474 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54474 ranks 3,484th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, cheap car insurance, and short commutes, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54474 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $199,521. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $90,388 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 54474 safe?
Yes, 54474 is safer than 89% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
Compare 54474 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54474. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54474 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.
54474 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54474: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54474: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54474: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54474: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54474 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.