Best Places54611, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54611, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
54611 ranks 21,675th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54611
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.
54611's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54611 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 54611 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54611
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54611 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,031, 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 54611's effective rate of 1.22%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 54611
54611's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54611.
Who works in 54611, and how
Work in 54611 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 54611
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54611.
What the weather is like in 54611, month by month
54611 sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 18° | 9° |
| April | 58° | 44° | 31° |
| July | 84° | 70° | 57° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 54611
The nearest airport, Chippewa Valley Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54611
Schools across 54611 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Whitehall Memorial ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Red Creek ElementaryC · 32% proficient
- Lincoln ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Osseo-fairchild MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Black River Falls MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Whitehall Memorial Junior/senior HighC · 32% proficient
- Lincoln Jr/sr High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Osseo-fairchild HighD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54611 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54611 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 54611 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54611
Is 54611 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54611 ranks 21,675th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, heat safety, and low taxes, and lowest on internet speeds and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54611 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $167,424. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $70,031 median income, cost of living beats 47% of zip codes.
Is 54611 safe?
Yes, 54611 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
Compare 54611 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54611. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54611 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.
54611 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54611: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54611: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54611: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54611: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54611 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.