City · Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

Kiel, Wisconsin

Kiel is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, part of the Manitowoc, WI metro area. It has 3,943 residents. Kiel, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 83 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,721 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #206 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on hospital quality rating (high), rent as share of income (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on high ozone days (high), new business applications (low) and grocery stores (low).

83Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,721 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #206 of 396 in WI
Population: 3,943 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 1,558.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 5539525

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.

Safety79#3,324/15,637
Economy56#6,932/15,631
Housing99#149/14,977
Health58#6,557/15,609
Healthcare81#2,988/15,650
Environment83#2,605/15,453
Education50#7,813/15,649
Infrastructure65#5,472/15,650
Community71#4,537/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,323/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Wisconsin 3.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesManitowoc County value
Rent as share of income · low19.8%
97/100Wisconsin 27.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low25.4%
96/100Wisconsin 43.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Hot days · low1 days
95/100Wisconsin 4 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationManitowoc County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.352
94/100Wisconsin 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Time spent in the emergency room · low112 min
91/100Wisconsin 140 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesManitowoc County value

Weaknesses

High ozone days · high11 days
5/100Wisconsin 4 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyManitowoc County value
New business applications · low8.6 /1k
11/100Wisconsin 12.0 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauManitowoc County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
13/100Wisconsin 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsManitowoc County value
Suicide rate · high22.1 /100k
14/100Wisconsin 16.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataManitowoc County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high75 mi
17/100Wisconsin 40 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauManitowoc County value
Public EV charging ports · low1.6 /10k
17/100Wisconsin 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyManitowoc County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,679 (2015-2019) → 3,943 (2020-2024)
+7.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
4.9 /1k (2021) → 12.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+148%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.9% (2015-2019) → 91.3% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
10.7% (2015-2019) → 15.9% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$62,300 (2015-2019) → $75,953 (2020-2024)
+22%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, Kiel, Wisconsin improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 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.

Improved3

Property tax−0.9 points1.88% → 0.95%
Broadband+6.4 points84.9% → 91.3%
Household income+22%$62,300 → $75,953

Declined1

Price / income+0.6×2.0× → 2.5×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Kiel, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.3 min2015-2019	18.7 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.4%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Broadband subscriptions	84.9%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Improved	40%
Effective property tax rate	1.88%2015-2019	0.95%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Improved	99%
High school diploma or higher	92.2%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	43%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3452015-2019	0.3522020-2024	+0.007	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$62,3002015-2019	$75,9532020-2024	+22%	Improved	37%
Poverty rate	8.1%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	19.4%2015-2019	19.8%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%

“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 Kiel, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kiel, 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, Kiel, Wisconsin itself moved −2 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

3,943 residents (±119)

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

1,647 households (±122)

Kiel, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k9.7%†159
$25k–50k17%†280
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,647 households (±122)

Kiel, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own78%1,281
Rent22%366

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

2,096 workers (±190)

Kiel, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone76%1,600
Carpool9.8%†205
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 Manitowoc, 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 Manitowoc County, the county holding most of Kiel's residents.

Manitowoc County has 1,726 employer establishments, 212 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Wisconsin's), with 28,889 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,260. The Census Bureau also counts 4,318 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,726; 4,318 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 212; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 28,889
Average annual pay: $50,260; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	124	15.2	0.83×About typical	1,872	$16,189	24
Specialty trade contractors	123	15.1	0.97×About typical	711	$63,371	336
Ambulatory health care services	102	12.5	0.60×Fewer than typical	1,397	$73,946	126
Truck transportation	79	9.7	1.91×More than typical	725	$58,879	97
Full-service restaurants	69	8.5	1.10×About typical	879	$16,063	14
Building equipment contractors	52	6.4	1.06×About typical	388	$65,052	57
Construction of buildings	52	6.4	0.84×About typical	295	$63,651	128
Religious organizations	48	5.9	1.06×About typical	510	$24,031	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	47	5.8	1.14×About typical	169	$45,911	80
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	46	5.6	3.53×More than typical	2,461	$58,566	23
Lessors of real estate	46	5.6	0.46×Fewer than typical	158	$32,139	484
Services to buildings and dwellings	42	5.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	181	$33,740	244

Rank places for an industry Open Manitowoc County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 81,600 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 -$545 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Kiel, Wisconsin: -$0.14 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$545
Per resident: -$0.14; 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

RAYTHEON COMPANY-$5450.0%

Spending by fiscal year

72.8KFY2017
90.9KFY2018
79.4KFY2021
-1KFY2022
78.3KFY2023
13.1KFY2024
-132.7FY2025
-544.8FY2026

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

Kiel, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Manitowoc County, WI and Calumet County, WI ($5.1M 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: Kiel is mostly in Manitowoc County.

See federal money in Manitowoc 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.

Kiel, 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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Manitowoc, WI84

Other cities and towns in Manitowoc 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/5539525

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends