Latest Census Bureau survey confirms that St. Croix County is well-off

Talk about it

The numbers from an American Community Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau in December reaffirm that St. Croix County is one of the wealthiest of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.

St. Croix’s median household income in 2007 was $67,347, well above both the Wisconsin median of $50,309 and the national median of $50,007.

The median income is the middle one for all of the households in a sample. Half of the households have an income greater than the median and half have a smaller income.

The Census Bureau estimated that an average of 790 St. Croix County households, 2.56 percent of the total, received food stamps from 2005 through 2007.

The county’s numbers were also better than the state and national figures by that measure.

An estimated 128,667 Wisconsin households, 5.76 percent of the total, received food stamps during the same period.

Nationwide, an estimated average 8.82 million households, 7.90 percent of the total, were in the food stamp program at any given time from 2005 through 2007.

Two other recently released Census Bureau surveys also indicate that the average Hudson-area resident is more well-to-do than most people in the state and nation.

An estimated 9.7 percent (7,033) of St. Croix County residents under the age of 65 didn’t have health insurance in 2005.

The number of uninsured Wisconsinites was 10.3 percent (490,436). The state ranked third-lowest in the nation in the percentage of residents without health insurance.

Minnesota had the fewest uninsured people at 9.5 percent and Hawaii was next best at 9.7 percent.

The Census Bureau also estimated the number of children ages 5 to 17 in each school district in the nation that were living in poverty in 2007.

Of the 5,339 children in the Hudson School District (public and private school students), just 158 (0.62 percent) were from households that the federal government considered poor.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee School District had 39,231 children ages 5 to 17 in poverty (32.4 percent) out of a total of 120,900.

Mortgages and rent

While St. Croix County incomes are higher than the norm for the state and nation, so too are mortgage payments and rent.

The median monthly housing cost for St. Croix County homeowners with a mortgage was $1,654. The median for Wisconsin was $1,364, and for the nation, $1,427.

The median monthly rent in St. Croix County was $672, compared to $566 for Wisconsin and $647 for the nation.

The survey found that 18,877 (79.8 percent) of St. Croix County’s 23,667 owner-occupied homes had a mortgage on them.

There was also either a second mortgage or home equity loan on 6,901 (29.2 percent) of the homes.

An estimated 4,790 St. Croix County homeowners (20.2 percent) didn’t have a mortgage.

The commute

Because many St. Croix County residents work in the Twin Cities, the average one-way commute to work of nearly 27 minutes was longer than in most Wisconsin counties, the survey indicates.

An estimated 35,639 (82.4 percent) of St. Croix County’s 43,246 workers drove alone to their job, according to the Census Bureau survey.

It says that 4,739 workers (nearly 11 percent) carpooled to the workplace.

An estimated 1,017 St. Croix County residents (2.4 percent) walked, bicycled, motorcycled or took a taxi to work — or got there by some other means.

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey is a treasure trove of information about the nation’s midsized counties and cities.

It can be accessed by going to the Census Bureau’s Web site, www.census.gov. Click on “American Community Survey,” and then “2007 ACS Data Release.”

Tags: news, stcroixcounty, census, wealth