City · Rusk County, Wisconsin

Ladysmith, Wisconsin

Ladysmith is a city in Rusk County, Wisconsin. It has 3,227 residents. Ladysmith, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 44 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,735 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #387 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), property crime rate (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), gyms and fitness centers (low) and access to exercise opportunities (low).

44Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,735 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #387 of 396 in WI
Population: 3,227 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 763.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 5540850

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.

Safety61#6,139/15,637
Economy6#14,648/15,631
Housing70#4,514/14,977
Health28#11,221/15,609
Healthcare25#11,715/15,650
Environment95#824/15,453
Education54#7,232/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,845/15,650
Community62#5,942/15,651
Leisure & amenities35#10,199/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Time spent in the emergency room · low83 min
99/100Wisconsin 140 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRusk County value
Property crime rate · low283 /100k
97/100Wisconsin 1,017 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationRusk County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.4 µg/m³
94/100Wisconsin 7.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyRusk County value
Hot days · low2 days
94/100Wisconsin 4 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationRusk County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Wisconsin 4.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionRusk County value
Students per teacher · low11.0×
93/100Wisconsin 13.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsRusk County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low23.0%
2/100Wisconsin 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRusk County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Wisconsin 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRusk County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low39.4%
5/100Wisconsin 83.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRusk County value
Average weekly wage · low$899
5/100Wisconsin $1,272United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRusk County value
Pharmacies · low0.7 /10k
7/100Wisconsin 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRusk County value
Traffic deaths · high29.7 /100k
7/100Wisconsin 10.2 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataRusk County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
10.2% (2015-2019) → 42.8% (2020-2024)
+33 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.6 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.2% (2015-2019) → 97.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateWorsening
11.5% (2015-2019) → 19.0% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.7% (2015-2019) → 10.2% (2020-2024)
+6.5 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, Ladysmith, Wisconsin improved on 0 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Child poverty+33 points10.2% → 42.8%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Ladysmith, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.8 min2015-2019	18.3 min2020-2024	+3.4 min	Within the margin of error	17%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.7%2015-2019	20.2%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	79.0%2015-2019	84.1%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Child poverty rate	10.2%2015-2019	42.8%2020-2024	+33 points	Declined	1%
Effective property tax rate	1.26%2015-2019	1.47%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	3%
High school diploma or higher	84.2%2015-2019	97.2%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3802015-2019	0.4172020-2024	+0.037	Within the margin of error	22%
Median household income	$39,8882015-2019	$41,7192020-2024	+4.6%	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	11.5%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Rent-burdened households	45.2%2015-2019	46.8%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.6%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	79%

“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 Ladysmith, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ladysmith, 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, Ladysmith, Wisconsin itself moved −5.6 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

3,227 residents (±16)

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

1,694 households (±82)

Ladysmith, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k27%463
$25k–50k27%457
$50k–75k13%†217

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,694 households (±82)

Ladysmith, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own53%897
Rent47%797

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

1,273 workers (±170)

Ladysmith, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone70%894
Carpool22%†281
Public transit0.9%†12

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 Rusk County, the county holding most of Ladysmith's residents.

Rusk County has 321 employer establishments, 226 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Wisconsin's), with 4,275 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,068. The Census Bureau also counts 1,018 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 321; 1,018 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 226; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 4,275
Average annual pay: $43,068; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	22	15.5	0.84×About typical	270	$13,907	4
Specialty trade contractors	19	13.3	0.86×About typical	54	$54,481	125
Ambulatory health care services	15	10.5	0.51×Fewer than typical	159	$68,044	28
Religious organizations	15	10.5	1.90×More than typical	61	$15,475	—
Gasoline stations	14	9.8	3.03×More than typical	125	$24,928	—
Full-service restaurants	13	9.1	1.19×About typical	88	$13,443	4
Truck transportation	13	9.1	1.81×More than typical	146	$60,253	45
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	6.3	1.26×Too few to compare	28	$43,536	30
Banks and credit unions	8	5.6	1.74×Too few to compare	73	$56,425	—
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	8	5.6	4.64×Too few to compare	21	$13,048	10
Offices of physicians	7	4.9	0.76×Too few to compare	109	$74,284	—
Building equipment contractors	6	4.2	0.70×Too few to compare	12	$53,583	18

Rank places for an industry Open Rusk County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,233 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 Ladysmith, 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

100.7FY2017
-10FY2018

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

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

See federal money in Rusk 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.

Ladysmith, 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.

Rusk County55100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Rusk 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/5540850

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends