City · Lafayette County, Wisconsin

Shullsburg, Wisconsin

Shullsburg is a city in Lafayette County, Wisconsin. It has 1,184 residents. Shullsburg, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 58 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,650 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #368 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), uninsured residents (under 65) (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), dentists (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

58Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,650 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #368 of 396 in WI
Population: 1,184 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 884.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 5573825

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.

Safety88#1,859/15,637
Economy35#10,142/15,631
Housing52#7,170/14,977
Health49#7,998/15,609
Healthcare32#10,664/15,650
Environment72#4,396/15,453
Education82#2,817/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,311/15,650
Community79#3,215/15,651
Leisure & amenities27#11,385/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Wisconsin 14.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLafayette County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.4%
98/100Wisconsin 6.4%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Public libraries · high4.0 /10k
98/100Wisconsin 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLafayette County value
High school diploma or higher · high96.0%
96/100Wisconsin 93.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Students per teacher · low10.8×
95/100Wisconsin 13.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLafayette County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low106 min
94/100Wisconsin 140 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLafayette County value

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Wisconsin 27.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Dentists · low18 /100k
3/100Wisconsin 75 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLafayette County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Wisconsin 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLafayette County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.1 /10k
4/100Wisconsin 4.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLafayette County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Wisconsin 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLafayette County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
4/100Wisconsin 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLafayette County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,327 (2015-2019) → 1,184 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.9% (2015-2019) → 75.0% (2020-2024)
+32 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.1% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
New homes permittedImproving
1.6 /1k (2021) → 2.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+60%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.0% (2015-2019) → 85.8% (2020-2024)
+7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,222 (2015-2019) → $64,028 (2020-2024)
+36%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, Shullsburg, Wisconsin improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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.

Improved1

Household income+36%$47,222 → $64,028

Declined1

Rent / income+23 points28.1% → 51.0%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Shullsburg, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.2 min2015-2019	25.4 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Within the margin of error	68%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.6%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Broadband subscriptions	78.0%2015-2019	85.8%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Effective property tax rate	1.75%2015-2019	1.59%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
High school diploma or higher	91.9%2015-2019	96.0%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	58%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4152015-2019	0.4582020-2024	+0.043	Within the margin of error	19%
Median household income	$47,2222015-2019	$64,0282020-2024	+36%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	13.3%2015-2019	11.7%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+23 points	Declined	1%

“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 Shullsburg, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shullsburg, 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, Shullsburg, Wisconsin itself moved −6.4 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

1,184 residents (±152)

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

485 households (±58)

Shullsburg, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k16%†79
$25k–50k20%†99
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

485 households (±58)

Shullsburg, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own85%413
Rent15%†72

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+13.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

545 workers (±84)

Shullsburg, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone88%478
Carpool5.1%†28
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 Lafayette County, the county holding most of Shullsburg's residents.

Lafayette County has 348 employer establishments, 204 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Wisconsin's), with 3,808 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,668. The Census Bureau also counts 1,477 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 348; 1,477 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 204; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 3,808
Average annual pay: $48,668; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	33	19.3	1.25×About typical	227	$69,881	164
Truck transportation	22	12.9	2.55×More than typical	131	$44,656	61
Restaurants and other eating places	20	11.7	0.64×Fewer than typical	174	$12,000	19
Religious organizations	17	10	1.80×More than typical	45	$11,311	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	15	8.8	1.75×More than typical	99	$52,303	41
Services to buildings and dwellings	14	8.2	1.22×About typical	37	$23,676	73
Building equipment contractors	13	7.6	1.27×More than typical	76	$60,737	19
Banks and credit unions	12	7	2.18×More than typical	94	$47,926	—
Full-service restaurants	12	7	0.92×About typical	92	$10,902	6
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	11	6.4	5.32×More than typical	29	$13,655	9
Food manufacturing	10	5.9	6.34×More than typical	1,239	$58,472	6
Gasoline stations	9	5.3	1.63×Too few to compare	153	$21,065	—

Rank places for an industry Open Lafayette County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 17,067 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Lafayette 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.

Shullsburg, Wisconsin is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mark PocanD-WI-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.2%

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.

Lafayette County71100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lafayette 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/5573825

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends