City · St. Croix County, Wisconsin

Hudson, Wisconsin

Hudson is a city in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area. It has 14,959 residents. Hudson, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 98 out of 100 (very high), ranking #277 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #49 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), loneliness (low) and food environment index (high). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), comfortable days (low) and grocery stores (low).

98Very high

Quality-of-life score: #277 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #49 of 396 in WI
Population: 14,959 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 2,192.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 5536250

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.

Safety87#2,030/15,637
Economy79#3,310/15,631
Housing86#2,079/14,977
Health83#2,653/15,609
Healthcare75#3,837/15,650
Environment96#678/15,453
Education95#788/15,649
Infrastructure71#4,506/15,650
Community98#243/15,651
Leisure & amenities71#4,578/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Voter turnout · high83.7%
99/100Wisconsin 76.3%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSt. Croix County value
Loneliness · low29.7%
96/100Wisconsin 31.6%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food environment index · high9.4
96/100Wisconsin 8.8United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Croix County value
Child poverty rate · low3.4%
96/100Wisconsin 12.2%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Reading scores · high3.39
94/100Wisconsin 3.00United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Croix County value
Rent as share of income · low23.3%
94/100Wisconsin 27.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low1.1 /10k
19/100Wisconsin 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. Croix County value
Comfortable days · low24.0%
24/100Wisconsin 24.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Croix County value
Grocery stores · low1.2 /10k
25/100Wisconsin 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. Croix County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100Wisconsin 1.1%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Dentists · low47 /100k
29/100Wisconsin 75 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Croix County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.460
32/100Wisconsin 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

PopulationRising
13,795 (2015-2019) → 14,959 (2020-2024)
+8.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
4.1 /1k (2021) → 10.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+160%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
16.2% (2015-2019) → 3.4% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.5% (2015-2019) → 92.1% (2020-2024)
+5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$75,000 (2015-2019) → $93,937 (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Hudson, Wisconsin improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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+25%$75,000 → $93,937
Broadband+5.6 points86.5% → 92.1%

Declined2

Inequality+0.0790.381 → 0.460
Price / income+0.9×3.2× → 4.2×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Hudson, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.8 min2015-2019	23.4 min2020-2024	−0.4 min	Within the margin of error	52%
Bachelor's degree or higher	42.6%2015-2019	43.1%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Broadband subscriptions	86.5%2015-2019	92.1%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Improved	35%
Effective property tax rate	1.52%2015-2019	1.19%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	78%
High school diploma or higher	95.7%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	25%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3812015-2019	0.4602020-2024	+0.079	Declined	8%
Median household income	$75,0002015-2019	$93,9372020-2024	+25%	Improved	45%
Poverty rate	8.9%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent as share of income	26.9%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Rent-burdened households	44.3%2015-2019	41.4%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Unemployment rate	2.2%2015-2019	3.5%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.3%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“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 Hudson, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hudson, 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, Hudson, Wisconsin itself moved −4.3 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

14,959 residents (±33)

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

6,577 households (±302)

Hudson, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k10%†665
$25k–50k14%911
$50k–75k16%1,056

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,577 households (±302)

Hudson, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own67%4,374
Rent33%2,203

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

8,050 workers (±395)

Hudson, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone71%5,739
Carpool7.0%†567
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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-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 St. Croix County, the county holding most of Hudson's residents.

St. Croix County has 2,422 employer establishments, 250 for every 10,000 residents (1.01× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Wisconsin's), with 31,951 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,611. The Census Bureau also counts 7,458 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,422; 7,458 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 250; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 31,951
Average annual pay: $52,611; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	239	24.6	1.59×More than typical	1,390	$76,283	603
Restaurants and other eating places	156	16.1	0.88×About typical	3,433	$19,449	20
Ambulatory health care services	144	14.8	0.71×Fewer than typical	1,553	$69,757	270
Construction of buildings	92	9.5	1.25×More than typical	539	$73,033	263
Services to buildings and dwellings	85	8.8	1.30×More than typical	406	$45,067	349
Full-service restaurants	78	8	1.05×About typical	1,773	$21,347	7
Lessors of real estate	78	8	0.65×Fewer than typical	134	$58,784	757
Building equipment contractors	71	7.3	1.22×About typical	528	$71,504	84
Automotive repair and maintenance	70	7.2	1.43×More than typical	316	$51,437	98
Building finishing contractors	68	7	1.84×More than typical	403	$69,117	234
Offices of other health practitioners	68	7	1.15×About typical	434	$44,862	168
Truck transportation	59	6.1	1.20×About typical	764	$56,597	129

Rank places for an industry Open St. Croix County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 96,976 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 $7,837 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hudson, Wisconsin: $0.52 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $7,837; +73% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.52; US $1,994
Sole-source: 90%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$4,73260%
National Institute of Standards and Technology$2,34530%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$7609.7%

Top recipients

SIMONEAU & STERLING MIDWEST CORP$4,73260%
E-SCIENCE, INCORPORATED$2,34530%
SUPERB MEATS, INC.$7609.7%
HAMBLETON INSTRUMENTS, LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

-772.9FY2017
18.5KFY2018
3.9KFY2019
51.1KFY2020
78.8KFY2021
73.5KFY2022
77KFY2023
13.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$4,73260%
Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance · 8112$2,34530%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$7609.7%

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

Hudson, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of St. Croix County, WI ($7.7M 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: Hudson is mostly in St. Croix County.

See federal money in St. Croix 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.

Hudson, 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.

St. Croix County100100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI93

Other cities and towns in St. Croix 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/5536250

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends