county

Sawyer County, WI

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

AI Overview

Sawyer County is a small northern Wisconsin county of 18,243 residents with an economy oriented around recreation and natural resources, reflected in a low foreign-born share (1.6%) and a high homeownership rate of 77.4%. The labor force is limited—participation sits at just 53.8%—with median worker earnings of $36,417, median gross rent of $683/month, and a median home value of $223,300, pointing to relatively low operating and labor costs. The county's median age of 52.8 years and 27.2% bachelor's attainment rate signal a smaller, older workforce, though the population grew 11.4% over five years, and a short mean commute of 21.7 minutes reflects the county's compact geography.

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

Population

18,243

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$60,801

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

52.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+11.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone14,349 (77.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone2,433 (13.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races960 (5.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race299 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone202 (1.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone118 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish193
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic78
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island25
  4. 4.Other Indo-European16
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

27.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,333

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$39,218

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$37,653

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,019
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,119
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services804
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)753
  5. 5.Construction (Group)680

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,824
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,523
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,443
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,145
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations847

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.63×)1,112
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.54×)191
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.36×)1,149
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.12×)411
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.04×)804

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$223,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$683/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999972 (14.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999948 (14.0%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999743 (11.0%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999581 (8.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999556 (8.2%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999474 (7.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

27.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,417

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,422 (70.5%)
  • Worked At Home977 (12.7%)
  • Carpooled901 (11.7%)
  • Walked164 (2.1%)
  • Other131 (1.7%)
  • Public Transit85 (1.1%)

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.