Best Places54740, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54740, 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.
54740 ranks 9,585th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54740
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.
54740's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54740 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 54740 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Short commute29.8 minutes each way, better than only 29% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$948 a month, better than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54740
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54740 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,817, 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 54740's effective rate of 1.26%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 54740
54740 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54740.
Who works in 54740, and how
Work in 54740 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 54740
54740 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 54740 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 54740, month by month
54740 sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 58° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 54740
The nearest airport, Chippewa Valley Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54740
Schools across 54740 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ellsworth ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Elmwood ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Spring Valley ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elmwood MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Menomonie MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Ellsworth MiddleB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Menomonie HighB− · 43% proficient
- Ellsworth HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Spring Valley HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54740 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54740 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 54740 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54740
Is 54740 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54740 ranks 9,585th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and heat safety, and lowest on cell coverage and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54740 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,818. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $77,817 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 54740 safe?
Yes, 54740 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $193 per resident a year.
Compare 54740 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54740. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54740 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.
54740 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54740: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54740: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54740: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54740: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54740 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.