Best Places54534, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54534, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
54534 ranks 22,463rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54534
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.
54534's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54534 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 54534 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Household income$54,270 median, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54534
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54534 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,270, 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 54534's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 54534
54534 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 54534.
Who works in 54534, and how
Work in 54534 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 54534
54534 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 54534 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 54534, month by month
54534 sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 8. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 16° | 8° |
| April | 50° | 38° | 28° |
| July | 79° | 67° | 54° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of 54534
The nearest airport, Gogebic/Iron County, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 181 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54534
Schools across 54534 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Glidden ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- North Lakeland ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Hurley ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Hurley HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Butternut HighC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54534 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54534 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 54534 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54534
Is 54534 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54534 ranks 22,463rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on distance from a big city and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54534 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,553. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $54,270 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 54534 safe?
54534 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $672 per resident a year.
Compare 54534 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54534. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54534 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.
54534 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54534: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54534: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54534: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54534: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54534 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.