Wisconsin's Bond Rating Upgraded

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 -- 11:01 AM

Gov. Tony Evers announced that the state of Wisconsin’s bond rating has been upgraded by multiple agencies.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency upgraded its long-term rating to AAA from AA+ for General Obligation Bonds, and S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term rating to AA+ from AA. The news comes as Wisconsin has continued to see economic rebounds in recent months.

Earlier this summer, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau released projections showing “unprecedented” revenue projections more than $4.4 billion higher than earlier estimates.

The state’s July unemployment rate, 3.9 percent, has remained steady since April and is among the lowest in the nation, nearly returning to pre-pandemic levels, and last week, the state announced that Wisconsin business exports grew 18.41 percent over the same period in 2020, exporting more than $11.5 billion in products around the world from January to June 2021.

At the same time, the state has been able to provide roughly $685 million in additional net general and categorical school aids, restoring its commitment to two-thirds funding for public schools for the first time in two decades, while also providing one of the largest tax cuts in state history.

Also, there has been an increase of more than $1.25 billion to the state’s rainy day fund, with the projected $800 million increase in fiscal year 2021 more than doubling the previous record-high balance.

The upgraded ratings will provide the state of Wisconsin an avenue to borrow money at lower interest rates, which will result in lower debt service costs to Wisconsin taxpayers.

The AAA rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency is the first time the state’s underlying bond rating has been at the AAA-level by any rating agency since 1982. Kroll had last upgraded the state’s rating to AA+ in 2017, and S&P had last upgraded the state’s rating to AA in 2008.

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