Portage, Wisconsin

Population

Down 5.9% since 2020.

9,956

people, the 100th-largest of Wisconsin's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Wisconsin's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

80.3%

of 7,843 jobs located in Portage are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 65% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,008

a month. Wisconsin's median is $1,087.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $400.

A $400 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Columbia County.

• $742 Tract 9701
• $1,142 Tract 9711

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$1,145–$1,717

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,008 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 160 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 55% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 83% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–1.8% to the 4,446 homes here.

17–78

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 23% less than Wisconsin's.

$204,900

median home value in Portage.

• $204,900 Portage
• $266,500 Wisconsin
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year