What is the population of Shell Lake city?

Shell Lake city has 1,513 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #309 of 807 in Wisconsin.

What is the median household income in Shell Lake city?

Median household income in Shell Lake city is $56,875 a year, 27.6% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Shell Lake city?

Median gross rent is $713 a month and the median home value is $207,100, so rent absorbs about 15% of median household income.

Is Shell Lake city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 3.6× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Shell Lake city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 15% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

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Wisconsin · Census place 73200

Shell Lake, WI population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Shell Lake, Wisconsin (Shell Lake, WI — Census place “Shell Lake city”) is 1,513 residents, ranking #309 of 807 places in Wisconsin. Median household income is $56,875, the median home is worth $207,100 and median gross rent runs $713 a month. Looking for the Shell Lake Wisconsin ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Shell Lake, WI: 54871.

Population: 1,513Shell Lake city residents
Median household income: $56,875Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $207,100Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $713Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 45 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 71.5%Owner-occupied households

Shell Lake ZIP codes (Wisconsin)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Shell Lake.

The Shell Lake WI ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

54871

What the numbers mean in Shell Lake city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Shell Lake city median would spend about 15% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 3.6× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 9% of residents and 71.5% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Shell Lake city, WI in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Shell Lake city is a small town in Wisconsin, with 1,513 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #309 of 807 ranked by population — larger than 61% of them. The median age here is 45 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Shell Lake city earn a median of $56,875 a year, 27.6% below the national figure of $78,538 and 23% below the $73,880 median for the 395 Wisconsin cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 9% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Shell Lake city is valued at $207,100, 31.7% below the national figure and within a couple of points of the $211,900 peer median, while median gross rent runs $713 a month, 49.3% below the national figure, or roughly $8,556 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 15% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.6×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 71.5% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Shell Lake city?: Shell Lake city has 1,513 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #309 of 807 in Wisconsin.
What is the median household income in Shell Lake city?: Median household income in Shell Lake city is $56,875 a year, 27.6% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Shell Lake city?: Median gross rent is $713 a month and the median home value is $207,100, so rent absorbs about 15% of median household income.
Is Shell Lake city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 3.6× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Shell Lake city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 15% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Shell Lake city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.