A new report from Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) that divided the state into six economic regions has found that the healthiest areas in the state are the south central and western regions. The report, “A Closer Look at Wisconsin’s Economy,” shows jobs in the south central region (Dane, Columbia, Sauk, Iowa, Lafayette, Green, and Rock counties) growing 6.4% from 2000-12, led by Dane (11.4%) and Sauk (9.2%) counties. The south central region outpaced both the state (-1.4%) and country (1.4%) for job growth. The population also increased 11.7% in the south central region, compared to the state average of 6.3%.
State job growth also fared better in the western region, where employment grew 5%, more than the U.S. (1.4%) and second only to the south central region, according to the release. Meanwhile, the southeast region, stretching from Kenosha County to Sheboygan County, lost 5.7% of its jobs between 2000 and 2012, more than any of the other five regions WISTAX studied. Its population grew 4.8%, more slowly than the state average of 6.3%, although it remains one of the most prosperous parts of the state based on per-capita income, behind only the south central region.
Northern Wisconsin, from Oconto County north to Douglas County in the northwest, saw the largest decrease in population, and its job losses (-5.6%) were among the state’s largest, fueled by a 14.6% drop in leisure and hospitality employment in an area that historically has depended on that sector.
