French Island vs West Salem

A side-by-side comparison of French Island and West Salem: population, income, housing, and more.

French Island and West Salem are places in Wisconsin. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

West Salem has the higher population (5,268 vs 4,235 in French Island). West Salem has the higher median household income ($90,991 vs $59,462 in French Island). West Salem has the higher median home value ($269,300 vs $198,200 in French Island).

Population, income & housing

	French Island	West Salem
Population	4,235	5,268
Median age	47.3 yrs	40.5 yrs
Median household income	$59,462	$90,991
Median home value	$198,200	$269,300
Median gross rent	$983	$1,142
Housing units	2,048	2,101
Homeownership rate	76.6%	78.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.8%	44.1%
Unemployment rate	10.7%	3.0%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	French Island	West Salem
Population	4,341 → 4,235 (-2.4%)	5,005 → 5,268 (+5.3%)
Median household income	$62,424 → $59,462 (-4.7%)	$57,543 → $90,991 (+58.1%)
Median home value	$161,400 → $198,200 (+22.8%)	$183,400 → $269,300 (+46.8%)
Median gross rent	$833 → $983 (+18.0%)	$869 → $1,142 (+31.4%)

French Island

Population

4,3414,235

Median household income

$62,424$59,462

Median home value

$161,400$198,200

Median gross rent

$833$983

West Salem

Population

5,0055,268

Median household income

$57,543$90,991

Median home value

$183,400$269,300

Median gross rent

$869$1,142

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	French Island	West Salem
Under 5	6.0%	4.1%
5 to 17	10.5%	23.6%
18 to 24	3.4%	5.6%
25 to 34	16.9%	9.8%
35 to 44	11.6%	12.6%
45 to 54	10.8%	11.2%
55 to 64	19.8%	14.4%
65 to 74	14.8%	9.9%
75 and over	6.1%	8.9%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	French Island	West Salem
White (non-Hispanic)	94.3%	86.4%
Black or African American	1.2%	0.1%
American Indian & Alaska Native	0.0%	0.0%
Asian	0.9%	6.5%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.0%
Some other race	0.6%	0.0%
Two or more races	3.0%	5.4%
Hispanic or Latino	0.0%	1.7%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	French Island	West Salem
No high school diploma	2.2%	3.2%
High school graduate	38.1%	18.6%
Some college or associate's	32.9%	34.2%
Bachelor's degree	17.3%	30.2%
Graduate or professional degree	9.5%	13.9%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	French Island	West Salem
Drove alone	75.8%	81.6%
Carpooled	9.5%	4.6%
Public transit	0.0%	0.0%
Walked	2.8%	0.6%
Bicycle	0.0%	0.0%
Worked from home	9.7%	13.2%
Other means	2.1%	0.0%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	French Island	West Salem
1-unit, detached	75.9%	62.4%
1-unit, attached	3.1%	9.7%
2 to 4 units	6.1%	7.0%
5 to 19 units	9.3%	5.0%
20 or more units	0.8%	6.0%
Mobile home & other	4.7%	9.9%

Poverty & households

	French Island	West Salem
Poverty rate	14.2%	8.9%
Average household size	2.17	2.58
Mean commute (minutes)	16	20
Median year structure built	1976	1990