Village · Dane County, Wisconsin

DeForest, Wisconsin

DeForest is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, part of the Madison, WI metro area. It has 11,501 residents. DeForest, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 100 out of 100 (very high), ranking #74 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #16 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on flu vaccinations (high), new homes permitted (high) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), child care cost burden (high) and days with unhealthy air (high).

100Very high

Quality-of-life score: #74 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #16 of 396 in WI
Population: 11,501 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 1,210.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 5519350

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety73#4,191/15,637
Economy89#1,768/15,631
Housing93#1,056/14,977
Health88#1,934/15,609
Healthcare95#813/15,650
Environment74#4,062/15,453
Education90#1,557/15,649
Infrastructure93#1,020/15,650
Community99#98/15,651
Leisure & amenities83#2,639/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where DeForest, Wisconsin ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Dane 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

Flu vaccinations · high66.0%
100/100Wisconsin 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDane County value
New homes permitted · high49.6 /1k
99/100Wisconsin 4.4 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Voter turnout · high84.9%
99/100Wisconsin 76.3%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionDane County value
Rent-burdened households · low29.3%
98/100Wisconsin 43.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Natural hazard risk · low3.2
96/100Wisconsin 10.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyDane County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.3 /10k
96/100Wisconsin 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDane County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high1.60%
18/100Wisconsin 1.32%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Child care cost burden · high35.0%
23/100Wisconsin 30.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDane County value
Days with unhealthy air · high1.6%
23/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDane County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100Wisconsin 1.1%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Depression · high25.7%
32/100Wisconsin 24.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Grocery stores · low1.4 /10k
34/100Wisconsin 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDane County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
10,179 (2015-2019) → 11,501 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
10.3 /1k (2021) → 49.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+382%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.7% (2015-2019) → 29.3% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
88.9% (2015-2019) → 96.4% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
15.0% (2015-2019) → 8.3% (2020-2024)
−6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.7× (2015-2019) → 3.4× (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, DeForest, Wisconsin improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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

Broadband+7.5 points88.9% → 96.4%
Household income+21%$88,151 → $106,419

Declined1

Price / income+0.7×2.7× → 3.4×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of DeForest, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.7 min2015-2019	26.2 min2020-2024	+3.5 min	Within the margin of error	16%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.2%2015-2019	41.7%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Broadband subscriptions	88.9%2015-2019	96.4%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Improved	47%
Child poverty rate	15.0%2015-2019	8.3%2020-2024	−6.7 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Effective property tax rate	1.87%2015-2019	1.60%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
High school diploma or higher	98.2%2015-2019	97.7%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3612015-2019	0.4132020-2024	+0.053	Within the margin of error	15%
Median household income	$88,1512015-2019	$106,4192020-2024	+21%	Improved	34%
Poverty rate	9.4%2015-2019	5.7%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.2%2015-2019	24.6%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Rent-burdened households	44.7%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	−15 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.1%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	24%

“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 DeForest, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of DeForest, 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, DeForest, Wisconsin itself moved −1.3 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

11,501 residents (±25)

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

4,614 households (±261)

DeForest, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k7.1%†327
$25k–50k9.1%†422
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,614 households (±261)

DeForest, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own78%3,596
Rent22%1,018

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

6,241 workers (±363)

DeForest, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone72%4,475
Carpool6.2%†388
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 Madison, 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 Dane County, the county holding most of DeForest's residents.

Dane County has 14,765 employer establishments, 255 for every 10,000 residents (1.03× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Wisconsin's), with 314,435 paid employees at an average annual pay of $71,173. The Census Bureau also counts 44,775 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 14,765; 44,775 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 255; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 314,435
Average annual pay: $71,173; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	1,070	18.5	1.01×About typical	21,768	$22,684	155
Ambulatory health care services	930	16.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	19,965	$94,252	2,127
Specialty trade contractors	807	13.9	0.90×About typical	10,579	$77,824	1,988
Lessors of real estate	748	12.9	1.05×About typical	3,903	$56,040	4,991
Full-service restaurants	481	8.3	1.08×About typical	10,989	$24,760	54
Services to buildings and dwellings	468	8.1	1.20×About typical	5,483	$37,122	1,611
Management, scientific and technical consulting	445	7.7	1.14×About typical	4,026	$87,374	2,838
Limited-service restaurants	431	7.4	0.93×About typical	8,737	$20,772	68
Offices of other health practitioners	428	7.4	1.22×About typical	3,041	$45,023	1,149
Construction of buildings	412	7.1	0.94×About typical	4,461	$83,827	906
Computer systems design and related services	409	7.1	1.63×More than typical	7,930	$125,193	807
Personal care services	338	5.8	1.22×About typical	1,706	$37,450	1,549

Rank places for an industry Open Dane County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 579,299 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 $562 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in DeForest, Wisconsin: $0.05 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $562
Per resident: $0.05; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; 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$562100%

Top recipients

WP BEVERAGES, LLC$562100%

Spending by fiscal year

3MFY2017
7MFY2018
10MFY2019
8.3MFY2020
5.5MFY2021
7.9MFY2022
4.7MFY2023
5.3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other food manufacturing · 3119$562100%

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 DeForest, Wisconsin, so they do not add up across cities.

DeForest, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Dane County, WI ($247.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Dane 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.

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

House

Mark PocanD-WI-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.2%

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.

Dane County97100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Madison, WI98

Other cities and towns in Dane 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/5519350

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends