Rusk County, Wisconsin

• White (non-Hispanic) 13,194 93.1%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 296 2.1%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 164 1.2%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 52 0.4%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 397 2.8%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 43 0.3%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 5 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 28 0.2%

• Under 18 2,834 20.0%
• 18–24 888 6.3%
• 25–44 2,764 19.5%
• 45–64 4,002 28.2%
• 65 and over 3,691 26.0%

Median household income

$61,716

90% interval $56,673–$66,759

−$15,841 vs WI · 67th of 72

Below poverty line

13.9%

90% interval 10.9%–16.9%

+3.6 pp vs WI · 5th of 72

Unemployment (12-mo)

4.7%

+1.36 pp vs. state

County GDP

$726.8M

0.16% of state

Avg. annual pay

$46,724

Establishments

411

• Manufacturing 1,035 23.5%
• Education & health services 965 22.0%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 840 19.1%
• Public administration 406 9.2%
• Professional & business services 393 8.9%
• Leisure & hospitality 298 6.8%
• Natural resources & mining 141 3.2%
• Construction 100 2.3%
• Financial activities 81 1.8%
• Other services 67 1.5%
• Information 39 0.9%

The sectors listed cover 99.3% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

77.9%

+10.1 pp vs WI · 29th of 72

Median gross rent

$874

−$213 vs WI · 38th of 72

Owner-occupied

4,948

Renter-occupied

1,407

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 65% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Wide wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Professional & business services, $70,208/yr) pays 4.1× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $16,995/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 11 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 5,660 68.5%
• Democratic 2,516 30.5%
• Other / third-party 85 1.0%

• German or other West Germanic 174 1.3%
• Spanish 79 0.6%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 12 0.1%
• Tagalog 9 0.1%
• Korean 5 0.0%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 4 0.0%
• Arabic 4 0.0%

Households

6,355

Family households

3,873

60.9% of households

Married couples w/ children

824

21.3% of families

Single-mother families

324

8.4% of families

Veterans

1,026

9% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 2,097 14.8%
• Catholic 1,984 14.0%
• Mainline Protestant 472 3.3%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 186 1.3%

Health insured

94.3%

±1 pp

Uninsured

5.7%

±1 pp

32nd of 72

With a disability

17.3%

±1.4 pp

6th of 72

Bachelor's or higher

16.9%

±1.6 pp

−16.5 pp vs WI · 68th of 72

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

7.6%

90% interval 6.7%–8.5% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

Rusk County Circuit Court (10th Judicial District)

Judges

22 (Circuit Court judges aggregated across all counties in each administrative Judicial District (Wis. Stat. § 753.06); vintage 2026 wicourts.gov. Note: WI's Circuit Court is per-county (72 trial venues); the 9 active numbered Judicial Districts are administrative chief-judge regions, not jurisdictions. Municipal Court judges (limited jurisdiction: city ordinances) are separate and not counted here.)

Court seats

Ladysmith

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

4

35.26 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

4