City · Jackson County, Wisconsin

Black River Falls, Wisconsin

Black River Falls is a city in Jackson County, Wisconsin. It has 3,546 residents. Black River Falls, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,768 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #371 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), access to exercise opportunities (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (low).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,768 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #371 of 396 in WI
Population: 3,546 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 836.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 5507900

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety87#2,029/15,637
Economy41#9,227/15,631
Housing86#2,170/14,977
Health34#10,260/15,609
Healthcare51#7,633/15,650
Environment79#3,257/15,453
Education37#9,933/15,649
Infrastructure46#8,486/15,650
Community45#8,663/15,651
Leisure & amenities29#11,171/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Black River Falls, Wisconsin ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Jackson 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

Violent crime rate · low23 /100k
100/100Wisconsin 240 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureJackson County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low102 min
96/100Wisconsin 140 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesJackson County value
Restaurants and bars · high15.2 /10k
95/100Wisconsin 12.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJackson County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Wisconsin 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJackson County value
Property crime rate · low413 /100k
93/100Wisconsin 1,017 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureJackson County value
Rent-burdened households · low39.9%
93/100Wisconsin 43.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.5 /10k
3/100Wisconsin 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJackson County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low39.6%
5/100Wisconsin 83.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJackson County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.4 /10k
5/100Wisconsin 4.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJackson County value
Distance to an airport · high110 mi
7/100Wisconsin 37 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauJackson County value
Reading scores · low2.72
10/100Wisconsin 3.00United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJackson County value
Grocery stores · low0.9 /10k
12/100Wisconsin 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJackson County value

Trends

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

Median household incomeImproving
$34,590 (2015-2019) → $66,632 (2020-2024)
+93%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.4% (2015-2019) → 88.9% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
2.0 /1k (2021) → 1.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−43%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Average commute timeWorsening
14.1 min (2015-2019) → 19.4 min (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Unemployment rateImproving
6.5% (2015-2019) → 1.4% (2020-2024)
−5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
13.3% (2015-2019) → 9.9% (2020-2024)
−3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Black River Falls, Wisconsin improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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

Household income+93%$34,590 → $66,632
Broadband+15 points74.4% → 88.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Black River Falls, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.1 min2015-2019	19.4 min2020-2024	+5.3 min	Within the margin of error	9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.0%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Broadband subscriptions	74.4%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	78%
Effective property tax rate	2.09%2015-2019	1.67%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	86%
High school diploma or higher	95.7%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	−0.5×	Within the margin of error	93%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4642015-2019	0.4342020-2024	−0.030	Within the margin of error	74%
Median household income	$34,5902015-2019	$66,6322020-2024	+93%	Improved	98%
Poverty rate	13.3%2015-2019	9.9%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	26.6%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent-burdened households	41.0%2015-2019	39.9%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Black River Falls, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Black River Falls, 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, Black River Falls, Wisconsin itself moved +8.9 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

3,546 residents (±37)

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

1,673 households (±132)

Black River Falls, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k21%†357
$25k–50k16%†271
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,673 households (±132)

Black River Falls, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own70%1,175
Rent30%498

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+12.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,596 workers (±160)

Black River Falls, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone87%1,386
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit0.0%0

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 Jackson County, the county holding most of Black River Falls's residents.

Jackson County has 400 employer establishments, 191 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Wisconsin's), with 4,983 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,721. The Census Bureau also counts 1,206 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 400; 1,206 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 191; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 4,983
Average annual pay: $54,721; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	36	17.2	0.94×About typical	425	$17,141	9
Truck transportation	26	12.4	2.46×More than typical	693	$62,863	63
Ambulatory health care services	22	10.5	0.50×Fewer than typical	239	$72,569	32
Religious organizations	20	9.6	1.72×More than typical	55	$13,109	—
Specialty trade contractors	20	9.6	0.62×Fewer than typical	142	$179,965	116
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	18	8.6	7.09×More than typical	83	$11,434	6
Gasoline stations	17	8.1	2.51×More than typical	322	$23,888	—
Full-service restaurants	16	7.6	1.00×About typical	173	$14,746	4
Limited-service restaurants	15	7.2	0.89×About typical	242	$18,752	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	13	6.2	1.23×About typical	40	$44,925	47
Offices of other health practitioners	12	5.7	0.94×About typical	52	$48,500	16
Banks and credit unions	10	4.8	1.48×More than typical	117	$51,991	—

Rank places for an industry Open Jackson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,931 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Black River Falls, Wisconsin: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

24.5FY2017
5.3KFY2018
4.4FY2019
275.5FY2020
374FY2021
260.9FY2023
226.9FY2024
-35.5FY2025

What was bought

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 Black River Falls, Wisconsin, so they do not add up across cities.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Black River Falls is mostly in Jackson County.

See federal money in Jackson 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.

Black River Falls, Wisconsin is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Jackson County54100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Jackson 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/5507900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends