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Tichigan, Wisconsin

Tichigan is an unincorporated community of about 5,100 people in Racine County, Wisconsin. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 3.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Milwaukee, is about 21 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,052
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$445,800
Racine County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$126,933
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Racine area
96
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Burlington, WI
To Milwaukee
21 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4% below the U.S. average in the Racine-Mount Pleasant metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Waterford High, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAurora Memorial Hospital Burlington in Burlington, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMilwaukee is about 21 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Tichigan meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$445,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Racine County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,201 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$126,933U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
94%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,241 a yearWisconsin: $3,792
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96U.S. average = 100 (the Racine-Mount Pleasant metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Racine-Mount Pleasant metro area, not Tichigan alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
5,052The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
48.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
45%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (26%); construction (17%); manufacturing (16%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Aurora Memorial Hospital Burlington, Burlington, WI, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Tichigan, run by Washington-Caldwell School District and Waterford Graded J1 School District. The nearest public high school is Waterford High, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Wisconsin's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
88%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
12°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
9 a year
Nights at or below freezing
154 a year
Rain and melted snow
35.3 inches a year
Snow
38 inches a year
Elevation
772 feet

Weather stations: Rochester Wwtp (6 miles away) and Burlington (11 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Aurora Memorial Hospital Burlington, Waukesha, Milwaukee.

Racine County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Tichigan's history on Wikipedia.

Know Tichigan?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Potter Lake, WI (unincorporated)807 people, 7 miles
  • Browns Lake, WI (unincorporated)1,827 people, 9 miles
  • Eagle Lake, WI (unincorporated)1,037 people, 9 miles
  • Bohners Lake, WI (unincorporated)2,460 people, 14 miles
  • Lyons, WI (unincorporated)1,196 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.