Fond du Lac composite
52.2 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Fond du Lac vs Sheboygan
Fond du Lac, WI and Sheboygan, WI side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 52.2
- Fond du Lac Life Score
- B
- Fond du Lac grade
- 54.7
- Sheboygan Life Score
- B
- Sheboygan grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Fond du Lac scores higher on 3 (cost of living, safety, childcare) and Sheboygan on 4 (wages, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Fond du Lac Sheboygan ◗
cost of living
66
47
wages
43
67
rent
68
77
safety
68
66
schools
35
38
childcare
42
40
environment
24
26
Fond du Lac and Sheboygan differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Fond du Lac has a cost-of-living index of 91.6 vs Sheboygan's 94.0 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $63,055 in Fond du Lac and $67,577 in Sheboygan. A 2-bedroom averages $1,176/mo vs $1,116/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Fond du Lac vs Sheboygan Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan works out to $720 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Fond du Lac carries the same local purchasing power as $102,587 in Sheboygan - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 279.6 per 100,000 residents in WI vs 279.6 in WI, with property-crime rates of 1156.8 and 1156.8 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: WI lists 2,205 public schools at a 14.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while WI lists 2,205 schools at 14.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $11,256/yr in the Fond du Lac area versus $11,256/yr in Sheboygan - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Sheboygan composite
54.7 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
2 pts
Sheboygan cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
2 pts
Fond du Lac safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Fond du Lac
Fond du Lac composite (Grade B)
Sheboygan
Sheboygan composite (Grade B)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Fond du Lac | Sheboygan |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 91.6 | 94.0 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.8 |
| Services | 91.1 | 87.6 |
| Rents | 67.3 | 80.5 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Sheboygan gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Fond du Lac?
$
Equivalent in Sheboygan:
$102,587
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Fond du Lac: 91.6, Sheboygan: 94.0, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Fond du Lac | Sheboygan |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $811/mo | $769/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $946/mo | $888/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,176/mo | $1,116/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,522/mo | $1,351/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,665/mo | $1,527/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Fond du Lac | Sheboygan |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $63,055 | $67,577 |
| Total Employment | 37,390 | 54,200 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Fond du Lac (WI) | Sheboygan (WI) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 279.6 | 279.6 |
| Property Crime | 1156.8 | 1156.8 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,205 | 2,205 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.1:1 | 14.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 10.6% | 10.6% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $11,256/yr | $11,256/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $10,203/yr | $10,203/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $10,203/yr | $10,203/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 991 | 991 |
| Water Systems | 978 | 978 |
| Superfund Sites | 46 | 46 |
| Water Violations | 2,317 | 2,317 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Fond du Lac | Sheboygan |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 37.0 | 41.0 |
| Good Air Days | 91.5% | 78.9% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 7 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 36/100 | 36/100 |
| Total Violations | 285,161 | 285,161 |
| Health-Based Violations | 58,688 | 58,688 |
| Systems with Violations | 72.1% | 72.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 71/100 | 71/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 29.3% | 29.3% |
| HPSA Designations | 459 | 459 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | WI | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 51/100 | 51/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 59.1 | 59.1 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 62.0 | 62.0 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fond du Lac more expensive than Sheboygan? ▼
Fond du Lac has a cost of living index of 91.6 compared to Sheboygan's 94.0 (national average = 100). Sheboygan is 2.4 points above Fond du Lac on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,176/mo in Fond du Lac vs $1,116/mo in Sheboygan, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $811/mo to $769/mo.
How do salaries compare between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $63,055 in Fond du Lac and $67,577 in Sheboygan, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Fond du Lac has the same purchasing power as $102,587 in Sheboygan.
Is Fond du Lac or Sheboygan safer? ▼
At the state level, WI has a violent crime rate of 279.6 per 100,000 residents compared to WI's 279.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1156.8 vs 1156.8 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan? ▼
WI has 2,205 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.1:1, while WI has 2,205 schools at 14.1:1. Charter schools make up 10.6% of WI schools vs 10.6% in WI. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare