county

Dane County, WI

Demographic and economic profile of Dane County, WI, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Dane County anchors Wisconsin's government and university economy, with 54.4% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher — well above national averages — and a labor force participation rate of 70.5% across a population of 588,347. The unemployment rate sits at 2.4%, median household income reaches $89,975, and GDP per capita of $84,664 substantially exceeds median worker earnings of $50,680, suggesting a productivity-heavy economic base. The county added 6.6% population growth over five years while maintaining a median home value of $366,100 and median gross rent of $1,345/month, with a notably young median age of 35.7 years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

588,347

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$89,975

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

35.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+6.6% since 2018

Dane County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone442,561 (77.3%)
  • Asian Alone35,212 (6.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone29,788 (5.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race27,850 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races23,364 (4.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone12,232 (2.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish24,537
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island8,216
  3. 3.Other Indo-European7,610
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)6,528
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic2,373

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

65.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

14.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

9.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

19,825

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$84,664

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$51,486

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance93,617
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services54,526
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)29,734
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)29,334
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services23,721

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations182,035
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations54,581
  3. 3.Service Occupations42,129
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations29,131
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations16,443

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Information (LQ 1.51×)9,065
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.28×)50,561
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.23×)91,688
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.12×)23,887
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.04×)15,696

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$366,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,345/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

57.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99935,535 (24.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99931,393 (21.8%)
  • $500,000 to $749,99926,812 (18.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99914,894 (10.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99910,808 (7.5%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9997,933 (5.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

54.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

96.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

70.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$50,680

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone204,411 (63.8%)
  • Worked At Home64,144 (20.0%)
  • Carpooled17,897 (5.6%)
  • Walked15,664 (4.9%)
  • Public Transit9,180 (2.9%)
  • Bicycle5,487 (1.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.