What it's like to live in Weston
Weston is a small city in Wisconsin with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Weston deals with cold, harsh winters, heavy snowfall, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Short commutes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Cold, harsh winters
- Heavy snowfall — 64" per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Weston compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Weston
Based on Weston's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,048
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $40,960 a year
- 38% of Weston renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$45,860
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $22,930
- Homes cost 2.9× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 28% below US
$1,024/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $1,024 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $229,300. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $229,300 · 38% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
2.8% county unemployment
Unemployment in Marathon County is 2.8%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Marathon County (county-wide)
Safety
101 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Weston doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Marathon County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 369/100k · Policed by Marathon County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 33% below US
18 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 17.5 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 10% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 78°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 10°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 3.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 29% below US
26% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 26%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
7 public schools inside the boundary
There are 7 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Ice Age National Scenic Trail (62 miles away).
Bottom line
Weston's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are cold, harsh winters and heavy snowfall. A year of median rent ($1,024/mo) equals 16% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
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