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Wisconsin Leads the Midwest in Rural Migration

Saturday, July 1st, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

(By Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsin has led the Midwest in rural migration since 1980, bolstered in recent years by people moving to areas known for tourism as they near or enter retirement age. 

According to Joe Schulz with Wisconsin Public Radio, that's according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, which found the pace of that growth has slowed in recent decades. The state's rural population grew by 18.2 percent from 1980 to 2022.

But since 2010, it's only increased by 1.8 percent. Mark Sommerhauser, communications director for the Wisconsin Policy Forum, authored the report. He said rural population growth in Wisconsin peaked in the 1990s before steadily slowing in the 2000s and 2010s.

But the rural counties that have seen the most growth since 2010 are those dominated by tourism and summer recreation, according to the report. Some of those include Sawyer, Vilas, Bayfield, Burnett and Door counties, which each saw population growth near or above 10 percent from 2010 to 2022.

They also all rank in the top-10 counties for leisure and hospitality employment in the state. From 2020 to 2022, Florence, Vilas, Adams, Burnett and Sawyer were the five Wisconsin counties with the highest net migration rates.

All are considered "recreation counties" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For example, Vilas, Burnett, Sawyer, Adams and Door counties had the highest net migration rates among 55- to 74-year-olds during the 2010s, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Applied Population Lab.

Applied Population Lab data shows Door, Adams, Sawyer, Burnett and Vilas counties also were successful at attracting 30- to 54-year-olds, but to a lesser degree than those around retirement age.

Sommerhauser said being tourism-driven appears to act as a buffer against population loss for Wisconsin's rural counties. That's especially true when compared to the state's neighbor to the south.

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