City · Winnebago County, Wisconsin

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, part of the Oshkosh-Neenah, WI metro area. It has 66,729 residents. Oshkosh, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 83 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,665 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #202 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), loneliness (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), adult obesity (high) and effective property tax rate (high).

83Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,665 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #202 of 396 in WI
Population: 66,729 (2020-2024)
Land area: 28 mi²
Density: 2,397.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 5560500

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.

Safety82#2,870/15,637
Economy34#10,346/15,631
Housing85#2,321/14,977
Health52#7,422/15,609
Healthcare93#1,052/15,650
Environment59#6,408/15,453
Education64#5,566/15,649
Infrastructure80#3,127/15,650
Community85#2,295/15,651
Leisure & amenities60#6,319/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Oshkosh, Wisconsin ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Winnebago 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 · high57.0%
96/100Wisconsin 53.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWinnebago County value
Loneliness · low30.2%
95/100Wisconsin 31.6%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Average commute time · low18.1 min
93/100Wisconsin 22.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent as share of income · low26.7%
91/100Wisconsin 27.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Wisconsin 4.6United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWinnebago County value
Flu vaccinations · high54.0%
90/100Wisconsin 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWinnebago County value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high41.7%
5/100Wisconsin 30.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWinnebago County value
Adult obesity · high42.2%
12/100Wisconsin 39.2%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Effective property tax rate · high1.78%
12/100Wisconsin 1.32%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Job growth · low-1.4%
20/100Wisconsin 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataWinnebago County value
Grocery stores · low1.1 /10k
21/100Wisconsin 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWinnebago County value
Poverty rate · high17.5%
22/100Wisconsin 10.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
7.7 /1k (2021) → 3.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−62%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.6% (2015-2019) → 91.5% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$50,892 (2015-2019) → $62,188 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 2.9× (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
17.9% (2015-2019) → 20.9% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.0% (2015-2019) → 44.0% (2020-2024)
+2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Oshkosh, Wisconsin improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved3

Property tax−0.5 points2.28% → 1.78%
Broadband+8.9 points82.6% → 91.5%
Household income+22%$50,892 → $62,188

Declined1

Price / income+0.4×2.5× → 2.9×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Oshkosh, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.1 min2015-2019	18.1 min2020-2024	+1.0 min	Within the margin of error	36%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.6%2015-2019	27.3%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Broadband subscriptions	82.6%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Improved	54%
Child poverty rate	17.9%2015-2019	20.9%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	2.28%2015-2019	1.78%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	90%
High school diploma or higher	91.1%2015-2019	93.1%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4022015-2019	0.4122020-2024	+0.010	Within the margin of error	41%
Median household income	$50,8922015-2019	$62,1882020-2024	+22%	Improved	38%
Poverty rate	17.0%2015-2019	17.5%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Public transit commuters	0.9%2015-2019	0.8%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent as share of income	26.2%2015-2019	26.7%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Rent-burdened households	42.0%2015-2019	44.0%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Unemployment rate	3.4%2015-2019	2.8%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.2%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	48%

“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 Oshkosh, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oshkosh, 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, Oshkosh, Wisconsin itself moved −1.6 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

66,729 residents (±44)

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

27,451 households (±602)

Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k17%4,536
$25k–50k22%6,058
$50k–75k20%5,612

Homes

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

Owners and renters

27,451 households (±602)

Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own55%15,094
Rent45%12,357

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

34,039 workers (±936)

Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone76%25,810
Carpool8.2%2,782
Public transit0.8%†284

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 Oshkosh-Neenah, 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 Winnebago County, the county holding most of Oshkosh's residents.

Winnebago County has 3,784 employer establishments, 220 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Wisconsin's), with 91,036 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,450. The Census Bureau also counts 10,168 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,784; 10,168 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 220; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 91,036
Average annual pay: $61,450; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	334	19.4	0.93×About typical	5,157	$87,261	355
Restaurants and other eating places	264	15.3	0.84×About typical	5,119	$18,824	33
Specialty trade contractors	244	14.2	0.92×About typical	2,981	$76,454	663
Offices of physicians	138	8	1.24×About typical	3,169	$102,464	71
Lessors of real estate	123	7.1	0.58×Fewer than typical	787	$43,313	1,193
Limited-service restaurants	118	6.9	0.85×About typical	2,339	$17,718	13
Full-service restaurants	117	6.8	0.89×About typical	2,355	$20,189	18
Religious organizations	115	6.7	1.20×About typical	922	$23,271	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	110	6.4	0.95×About typical	981	$39,939	472
Building equipment contractors	104	6	1.00×About typical	1,741	$80,773	90
Automotive repair and maintenance	97	5.6	1.12×About typical	719	$51,673	96
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	96	5.6	4.60×More than typical	562	$16,254	17

Rank places for an industry Open Winnebago County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 172,118 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 $187.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin: $2,814 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $187.7M; −48% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,814; US $1,994
Sole-source: 38%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.3%; 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 the Army$134.3M72%
Department of the Navy$30.8M16%
Defense Logistics Agency$22.4M12%
Federal Aviation Administration$79.8K0.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$39.2K0.0%
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office$32.6K0.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$3,9890.0%
Federal Acquisition Service$61.060.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

338.1MFY2017
391.7MFY2018
677.1MFY2019
606.2MFY2020
543.5MFY2021
383.6MFY2022
460.8MFY2023
299.9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing · 3362$135M72%
Motor vehicle manufacturing · 3361$28.8M15%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$5.9M3.2%
Hardware manufacturing · 3325$5.5M2.9%
Other transportation equipment manufacturing · 3369$3.9M2.1%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$3.5M

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

2520-01-665-9743 TRANSMISSION HYDRAULIC KIT 57K8954, CAGE 19207$1M
CATERPILLAR INC· Winnebago County, WI· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Apr 16, 2026 – Apr 16, 2026· SPRDL126C0045
8512081385!SPROCKET WHEEL SEGM$498.3K
WISCONSIN ORDNANCE WORKS LTD· Winnebago County, WI· Other equipment & supplies· May 4, 2026 – May 4, 2026· SPE7L326P3677
8511450238!ROLLER ASSEMBLY,TRA$413.6K
WISCONSIN ORDNANCE WORKS LTD· Winnebago County, WI· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Jun 17, 2025 – Jan 12, 2026· SPE7L125P7429
8511067780!ROLLER ASSEMBLY,TRA

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

Oshkosh, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Winnebago County, WI ($813.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 23% of that total.

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

See federal money in Winnebago 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.

Oshkosh, 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.

Winnebago County93100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Oshkosh-Neenah, WI95

Other cities and towns in Winnebago 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/5560500

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends