Incomes went up by about three percent a year in Outagamie and Calumet counties over a five-year period.
The numbers in the Fox Cities LIFE Study are from 2014 to 2018.
Winnebago County’s wages rose by 2.3 percent a year. The state average was a 2.7 percent increase.
Ryan Long is a regional economist for the state Department of Workforce Development, and he says transportation costs make up about 25 percent of a household’s income.
He says communities that are spread out typically have higher costs because of commute distances and times. Ones with more density have lower costs. Long believes the Fox Valley is somewhere in the middle.
