City · Trempealeau County, Wisconsin

Independence, Wisconsin

Independence is a city in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. It has 1,462 residents. Independence, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 65 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,465 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #339 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), rent-burdened households (low) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on gyms and fitness centers (low), job growth (low) and mental health providers (low).

65High

Quality-of-life score: #5,465 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #339 of 396 in WI
Population: 1,462 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 351.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 5536800

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety92#1,283/15,637
Economy35#10,152/15,631
Housing79#3,184/14,977
Health58#6,625/15,609
Healthcare38#9,772/15,650
Environment72#4,370/15,453
Education31#10,727/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,866/15,650
Community98#354/15,651
Leisure & amenities54#7,214/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Independence, Wisconsin ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Trempealeau 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 InstituteTrempealeau County value
Rent-burdened households · low31.4%
97/100Wisconsin 43.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Restaurants and bars · high16.0 /10k
96/100Wisconsin 12.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTrempealeau County value
Rent as share of income · low23.0%
96/100Wisconsin 27.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Public libraries · high2.9 /10k
95/100Wisconsin 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesTrempealeau County value
Loneliness · low30.3%
94/100Wisconsin 31.6%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Wisconsin 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTrempealeau County value
Job growth · low-3.6%
5/100Wisconsin 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataTrempealeau County value
Mental health providers · low52 /100k
6/100Wisconsin 282 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTrempealeau County value
Adult obesity · high43.2%
9/100Wisconsin 39.2%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Primary care physicians · low26 /100k
9/100Wisconsin 82 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTrempealeau County value
Distance to an airport · high101 mi
10/100Wisconsin 37 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauTrempealeau County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
5.4 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.5% (2015-2019) → 87.4% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
20.7% (2015-2019) → 10.4% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Average commute timeWorsening
14.7 min (2015-2019) → 22.0 min (2020-2024)
+49%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
36.3% (2015-2019) → 31.4% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.7% (2015-2019) → 89.6% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Independence, Wisconsin improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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

Uninsured−10 points20.7% → 10.4%
Broadband+20 points67.5% → 87.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Independence, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.7 min2015-2019	22.0 min2020-2024	+7.3 min	Within the margin of error	5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.6%2015-2019	12.4%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Broadband subscriptions	67.5%2015-2019	87.4%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	2.23%2015-2019	1.70%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	92%
High school diploma or higher	84.7%2015-2019	89.6%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	61%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4102015-2019	0.4002020-2024	−0.010	Within the margin of error	60%
Median household income	$49,8212015-2019	$58,0002020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	26%
Poverty rate	12.0%2015-2019	10.4%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	25.2%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Rent-burdened households	36.3%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.7%2015-2019	10.4%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	96%

“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 Independence, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Independence, 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, Independence, Wisconsin itself moved +2.1 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

1,462 residents (±211)

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

594 households (±89)

Independence, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k13%†75
$25k–50k26%†154
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

594 households (±89)

Independence, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own45%265
Rent55%329

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−12.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

633 workers (±132)

Independence, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone81%514
Carpool15%†98
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 Trempealeau County, the county holding most of Independence's residents.

Trempealeau County has 651 employer establishments, 210 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.86× Wisconsin's), with 15,034 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,016. The Census Bureau also counts 2,060 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 651; 2,060 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 210; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 15,034
Average annual pay: $48,016; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	54	17.4	1.13×About typical	163	$69,540	197
Restaurants and other eating places	40	12.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	435	$17,430	9
Truck transportation	36	11.6	2.30×More than typical	1,410	$67,889	87
Religious organizations	30	9.7	1.74×More than typical	107	$16,234	—
Ambulatory health care services	27	8.7	0.42×Fewer than typical	208	$63,803	64
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	27	8.7	7.18×More than typical	94	$12,755	15
Automotive repair and maintenance	26	8.4	1.67×More than typical	72	$44,681	49
Full-service restaurants	22	7.1	0.92×About typical	246	$17,069	4
Banks and credit unions	21	6.8	2.10×More than typical	155	$58,994	—
Gasoline stations	21	6.8	2.09×More than typical	310	$24,839	—
Construction of buildings	18	5.8	0.77×Fewer than typical	160	$67,394	102
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	18	5.8	1.84×More than typical	55	$82,127	37

Rank places for an industry Open Trempealeau County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 31,006 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 Independence, Wisconsin: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

574.6FY2019
0FY2020
324.3FY2021
706.5FY2022
-327.4FY2023
766.1FY2024
749.4FY2025

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

Independence, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Trempealeau County, WI ($87.3K 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: Independence is mostly in Trempealeau County.

See federal money in Trempealeau 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.

Independence, 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.

Trempealeau County80100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Trempealeau 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/5536800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends