Ranked 234th of 387 metropolitan areas in the United States, Racine, WI counts 197,532 residents. Here is what the public data says about the households, the business base and what that means for advertising locally.
Officially the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI metropolitan statistical area, it takes in Racine and Mount Pleasant.
For housing, the median value is $251,400, 24 percent below the national figure. Income in Racine, WI: a median of $78,096 per household against $80,734 nationally, so 3 percent below the national figure.
The share of adults with a bachelor's or above is 28.4%, 7 points below the US share. Racine, WI has a median age of 40.5 (1.6 years above the national median). Unemployment in the civilian labor force is 4.4%, about the same as the US share. Homeownership stands at 71%, 6 points above the US share.
Racine, WI versus Wisconsin: income about the same as the Wisconsin figure, home values 6 percent lower than the Wisconsin figure, business density 15 percent thinner than the Wisconsin figure.
The business base: 4,114 establishments with employees. Relative to population, 20.8 per 1,000 residents, 17 percent below the national figure. The table breaks out the categories that spend the most on local advertising; restaurants is the biggest of them at 300. Of those, 250 are home-services contractors (plumbing and HVAC, electrical, roofing, concrete, specialty trades and landscaping), a 6.1% share of the business base, 1 points above the US share.
| Trade | Establishments | Per 100,000 residents | vs US mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and other eating places | 300 | 151.9 | 0.99× |
| Physicians' offices | 136 | 68.8 | 1.27× |
| Landscaping services | 90 | 45.6 | 1.55× |
| Personal care services (all) | 82 | 41.5 | 1.04× |
| Dentists | 68 | 34.4 | 1.02× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 67 | 33.9 | 1.22× |
| General freight trucking | 66 | 33.4 | 1.14× |
| General automotive repair | 65 | 32.9 | 1.56× |
| Legal services | 55 | 27.8 | 0.62× |
| Beauty salons | 49 | 24.8 | 1.18× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 48 | 24.3 | 0.98× |
| Child day care services | 45 | 22.8 | 1.11× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 43 | 21.8 | 0.64× |
| Electrical contractors | 35 | 17.7 | 0.85× |
| Automobile dealers | 32 | 16.2 | 1.38× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 25 | 12.7 | 2.18× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 25 | 12.7 | 1.19× |
| Roofing contractors | 8 | 4 | 0.64× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 4 | 2 | 0.88× |
| Self-storage facilities | 4 | 2 | 0.44× |
Index: local share of all establishments divided by the US share; above 1 means the trade is more common here than nationally.
Crowded categories in Racine, WI: concrete contractors, general automotive repair, landscaping services and automobile dealers. Concrete contractors are the widest gap, 25 of them, 2.2 times the national share. Thinner than the national mix are self-storage operators, legal services, roofing contractors and real estate lessors. With 4 locations, self-storage operators sit at about 44% of the national share. In line with the country: road and paving contractors, dentists and restaurants.
Per 100,000 residents: restaurants 151.9, followed by physicians' offices and landscaping services. The most numerous of the listed trades: restaurants with 300 establishments, then physicians' offices (136) and landscaping services (90). Sector view: automotive businesses index at 1.5 times the national share, legal services at about 62% of.
A crowded category like concrete contractors, general automotive repair and landscaping services rewards precision: exact-match search terms, service-area fencing, Local Services Ads where the trade is eligible, and a Business Profile that is answered daily. Broad campaigns get outspent. Thin categories such as self-storage operators, legal services and roofing contractors are where the market has room. The searches still happen; there are simply fewer businesses answering them, so the first well-presented operator tends to collect the calls. High homeownership (71%) means a large pool of people who pay for their own repairs, replacements and yard work, which favors the home-services trades in this market. An older-than-average market (median age 1.6 years above the national median) responds to search results, review counts and a phone number that is answered; it is less swayed by feed advertising.
Where to start in Racine, WI, based on the competition profile above.
Search advertising that pays for intent, not impressions.
Keeping the Business Profile complete, current and answered so it earns the map placement.
Site structure, pages and citations that earn organic placement in Racine, WI.
A website that loads fast, states the offer and gets the visitor to the phone.
Pay-per-lead placements at the very top of results for eligible trades.
Call and form tracking so every campaign is judged on leads, not clicks.
Racine, WI has 197,532 residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 234th of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Racine, WI is $78,096 (ACS 2024 5-year), below the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 4,114 employer establishments in Racine, WI (County Business Patterns 2023), or 20.8 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Racine, WI is $251,400, and 71% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), concrete contractors, general automotive repair and landscaping services have more establishments per resident than the US average; self-storage operators, legal services and roofing contractors have fewer in Racine, WI.
We will look at your Business Profile, your site and your current ads, then say plainly what to fix first.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.