Village · Portage County, Wisconsin

Amherst, Wisconsin

Amherst is a village in Portage County, Wisconsin, part of the Stevens Point-Plover, WI metro area. It has 1,113 residents. Amherst, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 88 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,845 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #153 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), rent-burdened households (low) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), grocery stores (low) and new homes permitted (low).

88Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,845 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #153 of 396 in WI
Population: 1,113 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 828.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 5501750

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety78#3,493/15,637
Economy65#5,523/15,631
Housing73#4,101/14,977
Health67#5,222/15,609
Healthcare64#5,599/15,650
Environment83#2,670/15,453
Education82#2,808/15,649
Infrastructure70#4,695/15,650
Community94#904/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,421/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Amherst, Wisconsin ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Portage County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Mammography screening · high62.0%
99/100Wisconsin 53.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePortage County value
Rent-burdened households · low32.4%
96/100Wisconsin 43.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.337
96/100Wisconsin 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Restaurants and bars · high15.1 /10k
95/100Wisconsin 12.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPortage County value
Unemployment rate · low0.8%
93/100Wisconsin 3.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Preventable hospital stays · low1,736 /100k
93/100Wisconsin 2,596 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePortage County value

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
9/100Wisconsin 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPortage County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
13/100Wisconsin 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPortage County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Wisconsin 4.4 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
New business applications · low8.9 /1k
14/100Wisconsin 12.0 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauPortage County value
Suicide rate · high21.1 /100k
17/100Wisconsin 16.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPortage County value
Comfortable days · low23.7%
17/100Wisconsin 24.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPortage County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
1.0 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.3% (2015-2019) → 92.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.7× (2015-2019) → 3.8× (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
39.8% (2015-2019) → 32.4% (2020-2024)
−7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$50,729 (2015-2019) → $64,922 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.441 (2015-2019) → 0.337 (2020-2024)
−24%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Amherst, Wisconsin improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Inequality−0.1040.441 → 0.337
Broadband+12 points80.3% → 92.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Amherst, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.3 min2015-2019	21.4 min2020-2024	+1.0 min	Within the margin of error	36%
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.1%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Broadband subscriptions	80.3%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	69%
Effective property tax rate	1.81%2015-2019	1.25%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	93%
High school diploma or higher	91.8%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+1.1×	Within the margin of error	19%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4412015-2019	0.3372020-2024	−0.104	Improved	96%
Median household income	$50,7292015-2019	$64,9222020-2024	+28%	Within the margin of error	51%
Poverty rate	9.8%2015-2019	6.6%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent as share of income	25.8%2015-2019	25.9%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Rent-burdened households	39.8%2015-2019	32.4%2020-2024	−7.4 points	Within the margin of error	77%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Amherst, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Amherst, Wisconsin in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Amherst, Wisconsin itself moved +8.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,113 residents (±161)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

567 households (±103)

Amherst, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k13%†76
$25k–50k25%†141
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

567 households (±103)

Amherst, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own67%382
Rent33%185

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

601 workers (±83)

Amherst, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone75%451
Carpool3.5%†21
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Stevens Point-Plover, WI

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Portage County, the county holding most of Amherst's residents.

Portage County has 1,715 employer establishments, 240 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 0.98× Wisconsin's), with 29,656 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,777. The Census Bureau also counts 4,504 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,715; 4,504 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 240; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 29,656
Average annual pay: $54,777; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Portage County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	151	21.2	1.02×About typical	1,597	$71,667	147
Restaurants and other eating places	140	19.6	1.07×About typical	2,053	$18,199	18
Specialty trade contractors	99	13.9	0.90×About typical	618	$76,207	291
Full-service restaurants	72	10.1	1.31×More than typical	860	$18,249	11
Offices of physicians	63	8.8	1.36×More than typical	685	$94,796	13
Construction of buildings	60	8.4	1.11×About typical	371	$68,539	162
Truck transportation	57	8	1.58×More than typical	1,122	$57,531	86
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	54	7.6	6.24×More than typical	308	$12,123	17
Limited-service restaurants	53	7.4	0.93×About typical	980	$18,526	4
Religious organizations	53	7.4	1.34×More than typical	424	$21,736	—
Lessors of real estate	50	7	0.57×Fewer than typical	142	$36,176	471
Offices of other health practitioners	44	6.2	1.01×About typical	226	$47,907	86

Rank places for an industry Open Portage County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 71,361 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $7,489 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Amherst, Wisconsin: $6.73 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $7,489; +52% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6.73; US $1,994
Sole-source: 91%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$7,489100%

Top recipients

DIESEL MACHINE SERVICE, INC.$7,489100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.4KFY2017
4KFY2018
12KFY2019
16.8KFY2020
4.9KFY2021
7.1KFY2022
14.2KFY2023
8.6KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$6,78091%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$7089.5%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Amherst, Wisconsin, so they do not add up across cities.

Amherst, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Portage County, WI ($7.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Amherst is mostly in Portage County.

See federal money in Portage County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Amherst, Wisconsin is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Derrick Van OrdenR-WI-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 8.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Portage County97100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Stevens Point-Plover, WI97

Other cities and towns in Portage County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5501750

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends