A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Avoca$770/mo

Typical home $115K (Census) · tax rate 1.76% · or rent about $908/mo · Housing →

Mentor$850/mo

Typical home $128K (Census) · tax rate 1.68% · or rent about $1,125/mo · Housing →

The difference: $80 a month, about $900 a year, between Mentor and Avoca.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

AvocaMentor

Snow a year40″44″

January low8°F 5°F

July high82°F 80°F

Growing season (days)154d 144d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)63rd 55th

Outdoors & history

AvocaMentor

Trails3 mi 4 mi

Conserved land8.1%39.3%

Archive photos3 —

Community

AvocaMentor

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

98 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

AvocaWI MentorClark County

Avoca ↔ Mentor98 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Wisconsin average

AvocaMentor

People

Population 473Lowest 597Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -13.2%Lowest WI: +3.6% -6.5%Highest WI: +3.6%

Median age 45.6±9.6Lowest 13% above WI 50.1±4.9Highest 25% above WI

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 22.4%±7.3Highest WI: 21.4% 16.2%±1.8Lowest WI: 21.4%

Avoca and Mentor are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 15%±4.1Lowest WI: 18.5% 15.7%±2.5Highest WI: 18.5%

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 3.7%Lowest WI: 33.4% 4.5%Highest WI: 33.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0.6%±2.3Lowest WI: 5.8% 1.5%±2Highest WI: 5.8%

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $53,750±$15kLowest 31% below WI $60,357±$10kHighest 22% below WI

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $115,400±$24kLowest 57% below WI $128,300±$38kHighest 52% below WI

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $908±$215Lowest 16% below WI $1,125±$254Highest 3% above WI

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,029Lowest 46% below WI $2,158Highest 43% below WI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 21.6%±44.7Lowest WI: 43.7% 39.4%±32.9Highest WI: 43.7%

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 19.5%Highest WI: 10.6% 18.8%Lowest WI: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 79.6%Lowest WI: 67.8% 80.9%Highest WI: 67.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1975Highest same as WI 1965Lowest 10 yrs older than WI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 31 minHighest 41% above WI 29 minLowest 28% above WI

Work from home 7.2%±4.1Lowest WI: 13.1% 8.1%±4.7Highest WI: 13.1%

Mentor and Avoca are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0.4%Lowest 2.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.8 miLowest 20.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.05Lowest 0.40Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Dodgeville (14%)Neillsville (20%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MentorFew work in Avoca

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 8.1%Lowest 39.3%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 2.6 miLowest 3.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.1 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 25.6Highest 2.1Lowest

Wisconsin average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Avoca neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Avoca’s Town Square.

Mentor neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mentor’s Town Square.

Add a town

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One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Avoca

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Pulaski374 people · $287K homes

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Orion424 people · $236K homes

Towns like Avoca

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Prairie Farm423 people · $139K homes

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Mattoon457 people · $87K homes

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Glen Haven411 people · $144K homes

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Boscobel510 people · $157K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Avoca vs Mentor

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

98 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Avoca and Mentor

Bordering Avoca

Towns like Avoca

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