WISCONSIN — Wisconsin ranks near the top among Midwestern states for rural population growth in recent decades, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Wisconsin’s rural population increased 5.1% between 2000 and 2022, ranking the state second in the Midwest behind only North Dakota, per the report. However, its annual increase is at a 0.23% average, which the report noted is slower than other parts of the country. But the rural Midwest has seen a 1.1% decline since 2000, putting Wisconsin higher on the list than its surrounding states.
While nearly one-third of Wisconsin’s non-metropolitan counties have lost population, in other Midwest states, that number was much higher. Most of the Badger State’s rural counties held steady or gained residents. Since 2010, Wisconsin was one of just four Midwestern states to avoid a rural population decline, in addition to North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
From 1980 to 2022, Wisconsin’s rural population increased 18.2%, ranking first among the 12 Midwestern states during that time. Meanwhile, the Midwest region’s rural population increased just 1.8%.
According to the report, since 2000, 12 nonmetropolitan, Wisconsin counties saw their population increase by 10% or more. By percentage increase, those counties are: Sauk, Walworth, Dunn, Trempealeau, Sawyer, Jefferson, Vilas, Monroe, Vernon, Polk, Bayfield and Juneau.
Additionally, the report noted that rural Wisconsin counties that have seen the most recent growth are tourism and recreation hubs in the state’s Northwoods.
The full report can be found here.
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