Village · Polk County, Wisconsin

Frederic, Wisconsin

Frederic is a village in Polk County, Wisconsin. It has 1,140 residents. Frederic, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,311 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #242 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), high school diploma or higher (high) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), pharmacies (low) and broadband subscriptions (low).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,311 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #242 of 396 in WI
Population: 1,140 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 674.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 5527500

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.

Safety89#1,761/15,637
Economy37#9,783/15,631
Housing61#5,774/14,977
Health55#7,090/15,609
Healthcare64#5,609/15,650
Environment99#149/15,453
Education81#2,948/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,434/15,650
Community97#499/15,651
Leisure & amenities62#5,924/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Property crime rate · low268 /100k
98/100Wisconsin 1,017 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationPolk County value
High school diploma or higher · high96.2%
98/100Wisconsin 93.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Restaurants and bars · high16.8 /10k
97/100Wisconsin 12.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPolk County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.5 µg/m³
94/100Wisconsin 7.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPolk County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Wisconsin 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPolk County value
Voter turnout · high78.1%
93/100Wisconsin 76.3%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionPolk County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low22.0%
2/100Wisconsin 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
5/100Wisconsin 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPolk County value
Broadband subscriptions · low83.7%
12/100Wisconsin 90.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Average weekly wage · low$962
12/100Wisconsin $1,272United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPolk County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Wisconsin 4.4 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Traffic deaths · high23.7 /100k
14/100Wisconsin 10.2 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataPolk County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
41.8% (2015-2019) → 54.8% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
39.4% (2015-2019) → 26.6% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.0% (2015-2019) → 83.7% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
86.2% (2015-2019) → 96.2% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$37,411 (2015-2019) → $52,800 (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateImproving
8.9% (2015-2019) → 1.6% (2020-2024)
−7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Frederic, Wisconsin improved on 4 of 13 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.

Improved4

High school++9.9 points86.2% → 96.2%
Uninsured−5.4 points9.5% → 4.1%
Household income+41%$37,411 → $52,800
Broadband+12 points72.0% → 83.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Frederic, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.1 min2015-2019	27.2 min2020-2024	+6.1 min	Within the margin of error	7%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.4%2015-2019	16.2%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Broadband subscriptions	72.0%2015-2019	83.7%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	68%
Child poverty rate	39.4%2015-2019	26.6%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Effective property tax rate	1.51%2015-2019	1.27%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	66%
High school diploma or higher	86.2%2015-2019	96.2%2020-2024	+9.9 points	Improved	95%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	69%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3962015-2019	0.4272020-2024	+0.031	Within the margin of error	26%
Median household income	$37,4112015-2019	$52,8002020-2024	+41%	Improved	75%
Poverty rate	19.7%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	31.0%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Rent-burdened households	41.8%2015-2019	54.8%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.5%2015-2019	4.1%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Improved	88%

“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 Frederic, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Frederic, 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, Frederic, Wisconsin itself moved −4.8 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

1,140 residents (±116)

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

490 households (±61)

Frederic, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k24%†116
$25k–50k24%†116
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

490 households (±61)

Frederic, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own62%305
Rent38%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

520 workers (±89)

Frederic, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone80%418
Carpool9.6%†50
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 Polk County, the county holding most of Frederic's residents.

Polk County has 1,163 employer establishments, 254 for every 10,000 residents (1.02× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Wisconsin's), with 14,018 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,649. The Census Bureau also counts 3,551 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,163; 3,551 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 254; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 14,018
Average annual pay: $50,649; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	97	21.2	1.37×More than typical	377	$57,517	411
Restaurants and other eating places	75	16.4	0.89×About typical	890	$17,646	6
Ambulatory health care services	72	15.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	733	$79,153	121
Religious organizations	56	12.2	2.21×More than typical	242	$20,376	—
Construction of buildings	52	11.4	1.50×More than typical	133	$54,098	219
Services to buildings and dwellings	46	10	1.49×More than typical	198	$35,970	219
Full-service restaurants	44	9.6	1.25×More than typical	497	$19,082	—
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	42	9.2	7.57×More than typical	228	$15,439	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	34	7.4	1.48×More than typical	127	$51,370	64
Building equipment contractors	32	7	1.16×About typical	150	$57,327	57
Lessors of real estate	31	6.8	0.55×Fewer than typical	38	$36,658	324
Truck transportation	31	6.8	1.34×More than typical	99	$52,970	106

Rank places for an industry Open Polk County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 45,775 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 Frederic, 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

4.8FY2017

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

Frederic, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Polk County, WI ($4.6M 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: Frederic is mostly in Polk County.

See federal money in Polk 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.

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

House

Thomas P. TiffanyR-WI-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 10.4%

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.

Polk County94100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Polk 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/5527500

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends