Village · Walworth County, Wisconsin

Williams Bay, Wisconsin

Williams Bay is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, part of the Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI metro area. It has 2,981 residents. Williams Bay, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,353 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #186 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), restaurants and bars (high) and natural hazard risk (low). It ranks worst on home price to income ratio (high), average weekly wage (low) and days with unhealthy air (high).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,353 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #186 of 396 in WI
Population: 2,981 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 1,072.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 5587200

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.

Safety63#5,769/15,637
Economy66#5,360/15,631
Housing79#3,177/14,977
Health73#4,256/15,609
Healthcare69#4,930/15,650
Environment48#8,030/15,453
Education94#983/15,649
Infrastructure57#6,793/15,650
Community90#1,570/15,651
Leisure & amenities75#3,854/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low20.1%
100/100Wisconsin 43.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Restaurants and bars · high15.4 /10k
95/100Wisconsin 12.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWalworth County value
Natural hazard risk · low4.0
94/100Wisconsin 10.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyWalworth County value
Loneliness · low30.5%
94/100Wisconsin 31.6%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
High school diploma or higher · high98.7%
93/100Wisconsin 93.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Rent as share of income · low19.0%
92/100Wisconsin 27.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high5.3×
21/100Wisconsin 3.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Average weekly wage · low$1,032
24/100Wisconsin $1,272United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWalworth County value
Days with unhealthy air · high1.5%
25/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWalworth County value
Primary care physicians · low44 /100k
26/100Wisconsin 82 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWalworth County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.475
26/100Wisconsin 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Mental health providers · low158 /100k
26/100Wisconsin 282 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWalworth County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,604 (2015-2019) → 2,981 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
38.4% (2015-2019) → 20.1% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$58,447 (2015-2019) → $84,113 (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedWorsening
4.1 /1k (2022) → 2.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−42%4 yearsUS 5.0 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeImproving
27.4% (2015-2019) → 19.0% (2020-2024)
−8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
3.6% (2015-2019) → 11.6% (2020-2024)
+8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Williams Bay, Wisconsin improved on 0 of 11 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Williams Bay, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.8 min2015-2019	26.7 min2020-2024	+1.9 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	45.2%2015-2019	49.8%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Broadband subscriptions	84.3%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	1.38%2015-2019	1.14%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	65%
High school diploma or higher	98.1%2015-2019	98.7%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Home price to income ratio	4.7×2015-2019	5.3×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	44%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4872015-2019	0.4752020-2024	−0.012	Within the margin of error	61%
Median household income	$58,4472015-2019	$84,1132020-2024	+44%	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent as share of income	27.4%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	−8.4 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent-burdened households	38.4%2015-2019	20.1%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.8%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%

“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 Williams Bay, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Williams Bay, 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, Williams Bay, Wisconsin itself moved +3.5 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

2,981 residents (±45)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under 10 women (+5.0 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

2,981 residents (±45)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

White90%2,675
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino5.3%†159

Education

2,104 residents (±130)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

No high school diploma1.3%†28
High school or GED18%†376
Some college24%496

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,184 households (±116)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k11%†136
$25k–50k18%†208
$50k–75k17%†198
$75k–100k7.7%†91
$100k–150k20%†236
$150k–200k13%†149
$200k or more14%†166

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−10.1 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,184 households (±116)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own77%914
Rent23%†270

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

244 households (±116)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $75039%†95
$750–1,00027%†65
$1,000–1,50014%†

Home values

914 homes (±115)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $150k5.8%†53
$150k–250k14%†126
$250k–400k21%†194

Age of homes

2,173 homes (±149)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

2010 or later12%†259
2000–200912%†267
1980–199928%612

Size of homes

2,173 homes (±149)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Studio0.4%†8
1 bedroom6.6%†143
2 bedrooms27%594

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,261 workers (±159)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone74%930
Carpool6.0%†76
Public transit1.3%†17
Walk0.9%†11
Bike0.0%0
Work from home18%†227
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+7.0 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,034 workers (±144)

Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under 15 min29%298
15–29 min35%362
30–44 min19%†195

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Whitewater-Elkhorn, 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 Walworth County, the county holding most of Williams Bay's residents.

Walworth County has 2,829 employer establishments, 266 for every 10,000 residents (1.07× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Wisconsin's), with 39,077 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,817. The Census Bureau also counts 8,082 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,829; 8,082 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 266; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 39,077
Average annual pay: $47,817; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	232	21.8	1.19×About typical	3,507	$23,097	34
Specialty trade contractors	231	21.8	1.41×More than typical	1,334	$62,152	644
Services to buildings and dwellings	150	14.1	2.10×More than typical	572	$51,413	492
Ambulatory health care services	148	13.9	0.67×Fewer than typical	1,471	$77,874	259
Full-service restaurants	122	11.5	1.50×More than typical	1,977	$25,408	10
Landscaping services	104	9.8	2.80×More than typical	380	$59,029	183
Lessors of real estate	100	9.4	0.76×Fewer than typical	487	$38,610	1,074
Construction of buildings	96	9	1.20×About typical	311	$65,424	280
Truck transportation	86	8.1	1.60×More than typical	426	$57,606	170
Building equipment contractors	79	7.4	1.24×About typical	634	$62,043	101
Limited-service restaurants	78	7.3	0.92×About typical	1,252	$19,249	17
Religious organizations	73	6.9	1.24×About typical	470	$28,153	—

Rank places for an industry Open Walworth County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 106,192 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 $12.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Williams Bay, Wisconsin: $4.05 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $12.1K
Per resident: $4.05; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Agricultural Research Service$12.1K100%

Top recipients

GENEVA SCIENTIFIC, LLC$12.1K100%

Spending by fiscal year

69.6KFY2017
104.8KFY2018
64.1KFY2019
8.6KFY2021
50.3KFY2022
75.5KFY2023
13.5KFY2024
12.1KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Hardware manufacturing · 3325$12.1K100%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Williams Bay, Wisconsin

TO PERFORM PRECISE PHENOTYPING OF COLD TOLERANCE, AN LABORATORY-GRADE ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER MUST BE ACQUIRED WITH CAPABILITY TO OF SIMULATING FIELD TEMPERATURES. STANDARD GROWTH CHAMBERS ARE NOT CAPABLE OF OR REACHING BELOW-FREEZING TEMPERATURES.$17.2K
GENEVA SCIENTIFIC, LLC· Walworth County, WI· Other equipment & supplies· Aug 21, 2026 – Aug 21, 2026· 1232SA26P0558

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Williams Bay, Wisconsin, so they do not add up across cities.

Williams Bay, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Walworth County, WI ($1.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Walworth 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.

Williams Bay, Wisconsin is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Walworth County87100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI83

Other cities and towns in Walworth 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/5587200

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends