BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

09/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/16/2025 09:33

County Employment and Wages in Wisconsin — First Quarter 2025

News Release Information

25-1382-CHI
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

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  • (312) 353-1138
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County Employment and Wages in Wisconsin - First Quarter 2025

Employment decreased in 3 of the 7 largest counties in Wisconsin from March 2024 to March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that Racine County had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment, with a loss of 1.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Wisconsin, March 2025
County Percent change, March 2025

Racine

-1.6

Winnebago

-0.9

Milwaukee

-0.7

Outagamie

0.0

Dane

0.1

Brown

0.2

Waukesha

0.3

Among the seven largest counties in Wisconsin, employment was highest in Milwaukee (463,100) in March 2025. Together, the seven largest counties accounted for 51.6 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Large county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2025

All seven large Wisconsin counties reported average weekly wage increases over the year. (See chart 2.) Milwaukee had the largest increase (+4.0 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Wisconsin's other large counties ranged from 3.3 percent to 2.1 percent.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Wisconsin, first quarter 2025
County Percent change, first quarter 2025

Milwaukee

4.0

Brown

3.3

Dane

3.3

Outagamie

3.2

Winnebago

3.2

Waukesha

2.9

Racine

2.1

Weekly wages in all large counties in Wisconsin were below the national average of $1,589. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,519 in Dane to $1,182 in Racine.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 65 small counties in Wisconsin, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all 65 smaller counties were below the national average. Sheboygan reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,324). Florence reported the lowest average weekly wage ($700) in the state.

Among all 72 Wisconsin counties, 17 reported average weekly wages of less than $925, 25 had wages from $925 to $1,024, 11 had wages from $1,025 to $1,124, and 19 had average weekly wages of $1,125 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Wisconsin, first quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,589)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.

County Changes for the 2025 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2024 are included in this release and will be included in future 2025 releases. Four counties have been added to the nationwide publication tables: Pinal, AZ; Henry, GA; Wood, OH; and Comal, TX. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Gregg, TX.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the seven largest counties in Wisconsin, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3) 		First quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level (3) 		Percent change,
first quarter
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 -- 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Wisconsin

208.9 2,898.4 -0.2 -- 1,305 32 3.4 30

Brown

7.8 158.2 0.2 189 1,282 221 3.3 173

Dane

18.9 356.9 0.1 209 1,519 101 3.3 173

Milwaukee

30.2 463.1 -0.7 314 1,486 111 4.0 110

Outagamie

6.2 106.8 0.0 222 1,251 248 3.2 187

Racine

5.3 74.5 -1.6 357 1,182 294 2.1 284

Waukesha

15.1 244.1 0.3 175 1,438 135 2.9 217

Winnebago

4.5 92.6 -0.9 329 1,359 180 3.2 187

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Wisconsin, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments Employment March 2025 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,249,320 154,523,785 1,589

Wisconsin

208,940 2,898,406 1,305

Adams

487 4,112 949

Ashland

636 7,725 966

Barron

1,603 20,741 935

Bayfield

602 3,924 854

Brown

7,794 158,182 1,282

Buffalo

413 3,343 952

Burnett

477 4,958 899

Calumet

1,057 15,880 1,019

Chippewa

2,045 26,305 1,029

Clark

970 11,217 974

Columbia

1,812 21,484 1,021

Crawford

514 6,514 895

Dane

18,873 356,865 1,519

Dodge

2,043 35,927 1,195

Door

1,454 12,682 936

Douglas

1,245 15,646 1,057

Dunn

1,187 17,896 1,046

Eau Claire

3,356 58,144 1,146

Florence

138 916 700

Fond du Lac

2,581 44,006 1,168

Forest

313 3,184 873

Grant

1,558 16,953 908

Green

1,185 15,385 1,016

Green Lake

542 5,579 972

Iowa

749 10,449 1,158

Iron

229 1,610 734

Jackson

499 7,478 972

Jefferson

2,392 32,724 1,072

Juneau

750 8,961 1,009

Kenosha

4,519 73,993 1,157

Kewaunee

586 6,732 968

La Crosse

3,649 69,870 1,162

Lafayette

531 4,895 949

Langlade

667 7,075 840

Lincoln

819 9,795 1,011

Manitowoc

2,035 32,833 1,070

Marathon

4,099 69,150 1,128

Marinette

1,272 17,247 1,025

Marquette

407 3,847 1,059

Menominee

113 2,053 943

Milwaukee

30,155 463,066 1,486

Monroe

1,373 20,840 1,074

Oconto

951 8,720 892

Oneida

1,531 16,370 1,005

Outagamie

6,202 106,820 1,251

Ozaukee

3,277 39,567 1,196

Pepin

274 2,248 975

Pierce

1,049 10,086 921

Polk

1,351 15,623 933

Portage

1,988 32,708 1,203

Price

435 4,665 920

Racine

5,339 74,479 1,182

Richland

545 5,795 933

Rock

4,080 68,998 1,266

Rusk

408 4,398 859

St. Croix

3,005 36,528 1,086

Sauk

2,287 35,172 1,008

Sawyer

731 6,924 958

Shawano

1,091 11,892 919

Sheboygan

3,157 59,828 1,324

Taylor

542 7,754 953

Trempealeau

839 12,284 1,033

Vernon

847 8,407 909

Vilas

1,046 7,708 887

Walworth

3,520 44,038 1,022

Washburn

607 5,309 887

Washington

4,030 57,067 1,205

Waukesha

15,102 244,145 1,438

Waupaca

1,434 18,105 936

Waushara

581 5,507 871

Winnebago

4,533 92,637 1,359

Wood

2,173 35,092 1,100

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, first quarter 2025
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2024-25 		First quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
first quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Alabama

163.3 2,102.3 0.3 1,245 39 3.8 23

Alaska

25.3 323.5 1.3 1,452 20 5.8 4

Arizona

226.1 3,259.3 0.3 1,431 21 3.8 23

Arkansas

107.6 1,304.4 0.7 1,236 40 5.6 6

California

1,945.4 18,066.2 0.1 1,905 6 4.2 13

Colorado

242.4 2,862.7 0.1 1,681 8 4.2 13

Connecticut

148.5 1,671.7 0.5 1,980 4 3.8 23

Delaware

45.4 474.3 0.8 1,535 15 3.4 30

District of Columbia

51.5 748.9 -1.4 2,606 1 7.2 1

Florida

886.5 9,958.4 0.9 1,456 19 5.1 8

Georgia

394.8 4,860.7 0.4 1,491 17 3.4 30

Hawaii

60.3 644.8 0.6 1,363 27 6.7 2

Idaho

102.7 848.2 1.2 1,178 48 4.2 13

Illinois

407.1 5,988.9 0.2 1,662 9 3.2 38

Indiana

194.8 3,161.4 0.3 1,323 30 4.2 13

Iowa

111.3 1,537.7 -0.5 1,253 36 3.2 38

Kansas

104.3 1,428.0 0.8 1,246 38 4.0 19

Kentucky

159.6 1,986.3 0.0 1,213 44 2.4 51

Louisiana

157.0 1,921.2 0.5 1,227 42 2.8 49

Maine

66.6 629.6 0.1 1,283 34 2.7 50

Maryland

197.7 2,739.0 -0.2 1,634 10 3.2 38

Massachusetts

289.8 3,575.8 -0.7 2,107 3 4.6 11

Michigan

307.3 4,337.3 -0.3 1,391 24 2.9 48

Minnesota

211.8 2,878.6 -0.1 1,570 14 3.7 27

Mississippi

91.3 1,160.4 -0.4 1,018 51 4.1 17

Missouri

252.4 2,886.9 0.1 1,310 31 3.2 38

Montana

67.1 505.8 0.6 1,189 46 5.6 6

Nebraska

78.6 1,008.4 -0.1 1,231 41 3.1 42

Nevada

106.1 1,541.2 0.2 1,359 29 4.1 17

New Hampshire

66.3 681.0 0.1 1,606 11 4.8 9

New Jersey

338.9 4,259.0 1.1 1,815 7 3.0 44

New Mexico

66.8 868.2 0.3 1,203 45 3.9 22

New York

716.1 9,757.0 1.4 2,213 2 6.2 3

North Carolina

373.2 4,888.5 0.2 1,467 18 4.8 9

North Dakota

36.4 422.8 0.6 1,302 33 3.3 34

Ohio

344.2 5,466.8 0.2 1,361 28 3.5 28

Oklahoma

130.9 1,700.2 0.5 1,186 47 3.0 44

Oregon

186.2 1,965.7 -0.8 1,420 23 3.3 34

Pennsylvania

394.5 6,003.5 0.6 1,500 16 3.5 28

Rhode Island

49.0 489.3 1.0 1,429 22 3.0 44

South Carolina

198.7 2,304.9 1.7 1,247 37 4.4 12

South Dakota

40.5 450.5 0.2 1,163 49 3.0 44

Tennessee

221.0 3,251.5 -0.4 1,364 26 4.0 19

Texas

847.6 14,015.9 1.2 1,587 13 3.1 42

Utah

138.1 1,720.5 1.1 1,365 25 4.0 19

Vermont

33.5 306.8 -0.4 1,280 35 3.8 23

Virginia

321.9 4,108.8 0.8 1,605 12 3.4 30

Washington

240.9 3,583.7 0.9 1,935 5 5.8 4

West Virginia

61.9 694.6 0.0 1,149 50 3.3 34

Wisconsin

208.9 2,898.4 -0.2 1,305 32 3.4 30

Wyoming

31.0 274.6 0.0 1,216 43 3.3 34

Puerto Rico

52.0 946.1 -0.7 699 (3) 3.2 (3)

Virgin Islands

2.9 33.8 -7.5 1,034 (3) 2.7 (3)

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(3) Data not included in the national ranking.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on September 16, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 16, 2025 at 15:34 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]