A report from BioForward Wisconsin shows that Wisconsin’s biohealth industry had a roughly $22 billion direct economic impact across the state last year, according to WisBusiness. The data comes from the Madison-based group’s recently published “Wisconsin Biohealth Industry Landscape and Economic Impact Report.”
The report analyzes the sector’s job growth in addition to its overall contribution to the state economy. Its release coincides with this week’s BioHealth Summit at Monona Terrace.
The industry’s total economic impact statewide was $37.7 billion, combining direct, indirect, and induced sources. The industry supports over 141,000 jobs across Wisconsin from these broad impacts. In 2023, that included the direct employment of over 58,000 people — up 25% since 2018.
The value added per worker in biohealth in 2023 was $270,000 — more than the comparable figure for the state economy, which was $131,000.
The largest subsector of the industry is digital health, employing around 16,000 people last year — a 34% increase since 2018, largely attributed to the role of Verona-based Epic Systems, which employed about 13,000 people in 2023.
Employment in biomedical research and testing in Wisconsin reached over 13,000 jobs last year, up 52% since 2018. Medical laboratories reportedly doubled their employment over that five-year span.
Medical device and equipment manufacturers employed about 12,000 people statewide last year but posted a 1% drop from 2018; biohealth distribution firms employed nearly 11,000 workers, up 15.3% since 2018; and Wisconsin’s smallest biohealth subsector pharmaceutical manufacturers, hit nearly 6,800 jobs in 2023, up 37.5% since 2018.
The industry’s average wages of $104,000 in 2023 exceeded the average of $61,000 for all other Wisconsin industries.
