Wisconsin is seeing more rural population growth than most other Midwest states, particularly in areas where tourism plays a big role in the local economy.
That’s according to the latest Wisconsin Policy Forum report, which shows the state’s rural population grew 5.1 percent between 2000 and 2022. That’s the second-highest growth in the Midwest after North Dakota.
And while that averages out to just a 0.23 percent increase per year, report authors note that’s “relatively strong” in the Midwest context. Across 12 states that make up the region, the rural population has fallen 1.1 percent since 2000, the report shows.
Plus, WPF notes about a third of the state’s non-metropolitan counties have lost population in the past two decades or so. But that figure was “far higher” in other Midwest states. And most of the state’s rural counties “held steady” or added residents during that time.
“These figures offer an important counterpoint to an oft-repeated narrative of rural decline,” report authors wrote.
Since 2010, some of the state’s rural counties have seen relatively rapid growth.
While two of the top six Wisconsin counties that had population growth of 10 percent or more since 2010 are urban — Dane and St. Croix — the next four are all rural. Those include Sawyer, Vilas, Bayfield and Burnett. Others with strong population growth in that period include Brown, Outagamie, Eau Claire and Door counties.
WPF notes the fast-growing rural counties included in the report are “dominated by many of rural Wisconsin’s top destinations for tourism and recreation,” and are attractive to retirees — especially those who own vacation properties in these areas.
See the full report: https://wispolicyforum.org/research/why-is-wisconsins-rural-population-growth-outpacing-the-midwest/
–By Alex Moe
