Counties / Wisconsin / Adams County

Adams County, WI

FIPS 55001 · population 21,123 · outside every metro area

$253k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$253k
▲ 6.1% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$828
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$973
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+76.6%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+6.1%FHFA HPI2025+5.9%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$201k
Surveyed gross rent$828
Rent burden 30%+39.0%
Median year built1984
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
44.0%vacant
17,008estimated housing units
Occupied tenure13.8% renter
owner 86.2%renter 13.8%
Structure mix75.8% single-family
Single-family 75.8%20+ units 0.6%Mobile home 18.1%Other 5.5%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs4,408▼ 0.1% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments501annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$933▲ 4.2% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorLeisure and hospitality24.6% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.1%WEEKLY WAGE+4.2%Leisure and hospitality24.6%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Adams County’s decision tension is that measured home-price momentum remains positive while listing evidence shows more visible choice and concessions. Investors able to verify lease economics and flood costs should investigate; those requiring a demonstrable yield or uncomplicated resale should be cautious. Zillow’s 2026-06 county median home value was $253,494, up 6.09% year over year. Separately, FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 5.90% annually; it corroborates direction, but is not a home value and must not be blended with Zillow.

02Housing economics

County market asking rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not market rent, and cannot substitute for a rent assumption. The effective property-tax rate was 1.20%, with median annual tax of $2,407. That tax burden is a carrying-cost input alongside an unobserved rent stream, but neither figure establishes the tax bill on a candidate property.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s MLS listing market reports 178 active listings, 34.98% more year over year, while 21.96% were price-reduced. These are visible supply and seller-concession measures, not closed-sale prices or proof of buyer demand. Tax-return migration was net positive by 57 households; movers in reported average AGI of $62,302 versus $53,557 for movers out. Non-occupants made 46 of 341 purchase mortgages, recording investor participation rather than bidding pressure.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled expected annual climate loss equals 0.16% of building value; that is a modeled loss ratio, not an insurance quote or property-specific flood exposure. QCEW shows annual covered employment at county workplaces declined slightly while covered-worker wages increased; leisure and hospitality is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy or resident employment. Next checks are market-rent comps, executed-sale comps, parcel tax assessments, flood zone and insurance quotes, and lease-up evidence; without them, yield, exit pricing and property-level carrying risk cannot be underwritten.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Adams County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Wisconsin Dells city*2.5KAdams city2.1KLake Camelot CDP1.2KLake Arrowhead CDP969Friendship village813Dellwood CDP661Lake Sherwood CDP369Arkdale CDP186
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

10 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Wisconsin Dells cityIncorporated place · spans 4 counties
    2,547
  2. 02
    Adams cityIncorporated place
    2,050
  3. 03
    Lake Camelot CDPCensus-designated place
    1,162
  4. 04
    Lake Arrowhead CDPCensus-designated place
    969
  5. 05
    Friendship villageIncorporated place
    813
  6. 06
    Dellwood CDPCensus-designated place
    661
  7. 07
    Lake Sherwood CDPCensus-designated place
    369
  8. 08
    Arkdale CDPCensus-designated place
    186
  9. 09
    Grand Marsh CDPCensus-designated place
    141
  10. 10
    Easton CDPCensus-designated place
    46

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.163% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.20%

$2,407 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+57

761 in · 704 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$8,745

$62,302 arriving · $53,557 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors13.5%

46 of 341 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings178▲ 35.0% year over year
Median days on market54▼ 4.9% year over year
Listings price-reduced22.0%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 20.4% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Missing market-rent comps could leave the price-to-income return unsupported.
  2. Modeled inland-flood loss may differ materially from parcel exposure and insurance cost.
  3. Net migration and non-occupant mortgage counts do not establish durable tenant demand or resale liquidity.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Is market rent published, and can gross yield be calculated?

No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard and cannot be used as market rent.

What investor participation was recorded?

Non-occupants made 46 of 341 purchase mortgages, equal to the supplied investor share of 13.49%.

What does the labor evidence measure?

QCEW measures annual average covered jobs at workplaces in the county and covered-worker wages. It is not resident employment, unemployment, or a forecast; leisure and hospitality is the largest disclosed private supersector.