A recent UW–Madison Division of Extension report found that Medicare and Social Security are making up a rising share of Wisconsinites’ personal income, according to WisBusiness.
The share of total personal income in the state coming from Social Security and Medicare has risen from 5.2% in 1970 to 11.4% in 2022 as the state’s population ages. Every county in the state also had a greater share of income coming from Social Security and Medicare in 2022 than in 2000. The number of counties with 15% or more of their total income coming from those programs leapt from three to 35 in that time period.
The report breaks down personal income into earnings; dividends, interest, and rent; and personal current transfer receipts, including payments from government social benefit programs.
Earnings are typically the largest source, but the breakdown of income can reportedly be impacted by economic cycles and local conditions.
According to the report, in 2022:
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61.7% of personal income in Wisconsin came from earnings;
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19.4% came from dividends, interest, and rent; and
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18.9% was from personal current transfer receipts.
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The largest source of these transfer payments was Social Security at 6.9% of personal income, followed by Medicare (4.5%) and public assistance medical care (3.3%).
