Waupaca, Wisconsin.
Typical home $325,452 (+6.3% in a year).
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,011 (+145%) since Jan 2020.
- 1 year
- Up $19,329 +6%
- $306,123$325,452 since Sep 2025
- 5 years
- Up $84,803 +35%
- $240,649$325,452 since Sep 2021
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- Waupaca$1,708
- Wisconsin$1,770
- United States$1,922
At the last five years' pace, a typical home here doubles in price every 11 years.
Typical home values in Waupaca, WI rose 6.3% over the past year — faster than the nation's +1.2%.
Living in Waupaca, Waupaca County, Wisconsin
Waupaca is a city of 6,282 people in Waupaca County. Half its households earn more than $52,727 a year and half less, against $72,830 across Waupaca County; 12% of its people live below the poverty line. 61% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 39% are rented. Unemployment in Waupaca County was 3.1% in August 2026, and the county had 0.9% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in manufacturing, then schools and health care.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. Waupaca is a small city in central Wisconsin, with residents somewhat older than the typical American community and incomes well below those across Waupaca County. A majority of homes are lived in by their owners, though not as large a majority as you might expect in a county of this kind. Winters are cold and snowy, with January the coldest month, while summers turn warm, and precipitation falls fairly steadily through the year.
Work. Residents work mostly in manufacturing, in schools, hospitals and social care, in shops, and in government. Among the largest workplaces in Waupaca are Waupaca Foundry, an iron foundry, and ThedaCare Medical Center - Waupaca, a critical access hospital, along with Bethany Home, a convalescent home. Unemployment across the county has stayed low, though the county has lost a small share of its jobs over the past year.
Things to do. Water and woods are the main draw nearby. Hartman Creek State Park, a protected area, and Pine Lake are both a short drive away. Partridge Lake lies a longer drive out, and the Tomorrow River is another longer drive for anyone who prefers moving water.
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- 2,846households
- 24%of adults have a degree
- 12%below the poverty line
- 10%work from home
What residents work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Waupaca County had 18,477 jobs in 2025, 0.9% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in January, with highs near 25° and lows near 8°; warmest in July, with highs near 82° and lows near 59°. About 49 inches of snow and 34 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Waupaca weather station, under a mile away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in Waupaca
- Waupaca FoundryIron foundries1,073
- Waupaca Foundry, Inc. Plant 1Iron foundries514
- Thedacare Medical Center - WaupacaCritical access hospital229FTE
- Bethany HomeConvalescent homes or convalescent hospitals208
- Gusmer Enterprises, Inc. - WaupacaPulp products, molded, manufacturing189
- Roundy'sSupermarkets and other grocery except convenience stores121
- Manufacturers Pallet DisposalAmmunition boxes, wood, manufacturing70
- Presto WaupacaFood storage bags, plastics film, single wall or multiwall, manufacturing42
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 14 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 2,734 people in all. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Cold wavesRelatively high
- HailRelatively moderate
- LightningRelatively moderate
- TornadoesRelatively moderate
- Strong windRelatively moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms across Waupaca County, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively low. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Waupaca County.
Waupaca home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
- Waupaca$325,452
- Wisconsin$337,196
- United States$366,157
Levy by levy, and a check of one home’s own bill, the site covers Ohio’s property tax.
Sellers are cutting prices on about 1 in 6 Waupaca listings — the market is cooling.
When this market ran hot
Each cell is that month's year-on-year home-value growth. Read left to right, top row is the latest year — the 2021–22 band is the boom.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Share of listings with a price cut
The early-warning dial: sellers cut when buyers stop reaching. Rising cuts cool a market months before prices notice.
- Waupaca17.79%
- United States26.90%
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- Waupaca73
New listings per month
Sellers arriving at the market.
- Waupaca17
Zip codes with a Waupaca address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Waupaca — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.