Wisconsin: 2008 Population and Housing Estimates

Demographic characteristics⁽¹⁾ 

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of Wisconsin at 5,627,968 residents on 1^st of July 2008. This includes an increase of 264,293, or 4.9%, since the 2000 Census⁽⁶⁾. Females were 50.3% while males were 49.7%. The median age was 38.2 years. Out of total population, 23.3% were under 18 years while 13.3% were 65 years and older. Age Dependency Ratio was 57.9; Child Dependency Ratio was 36.9 while Old-Age Dependency Ratio was 18.6.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

For people reporting one race alone, 88.4% were White, 5.8% - Black or African American, 2% - Asian, 0.9% - American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.02% - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 1.3% - some other race. 1.6% reported two or more races. Out of all people in Wisconsin, 5.1% were Hispanic or Latino of any race while 84.9% were White non-Hispanic.

In 2008, the population density in Wisconsin was 103.6 persons per square mile of land area.

Social characteristics⁽²⁾ 

Households and families:

There were 2,249,630 households in Wisconsin in 2008. 5,464,836 people were recorded in these households; 41.2% were householders, 21% - spouses, 28.8% - children, 3.6% - other relatives, and 5.4% - nonrelatives (including 2.6% unmarried partners). The average household size was 2.43 people. Households with one or more people under 18 years comprised 31.6% while households with one or more people 65 years and over constituted 22.8%.

Families made up 65.2% of the households in Wisconsin. This figure includes married-couple families (51.1%) and other families (14.2%; families with male householder with no wife present - 4.1%, families with female householder with no husband present - 10.1%). Nonfamily households made up 34.8% of all households in Wisconsin. Most of the nonfamily households were people living alone (28.4% of all households), but some were composed of people living in households in which no one was related to the householder (6.4% of all households). The average family size was 2.99 people.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

There were 68,338 grandparents living with own grandchildren under 18 years, 41.6% of them were responsible for own grandchildren.

Marital status:

In 2008, there were 2,245,585 males and 2,303,946 females 15 years and over in Wisconsin. Out of all males 15 years and over, 33.7% were never married, 53.7% were married, 0.9% were separated, 2.4% were widowed, and 9.4% were divorced. Out of all females 15 years and over, 27.2% were never married, 51.6% were married, 1.4% were separated, 9.1% were widowed, and 10.7% were divorced.

Fertility:

There were 78,292 women 15 to 50 years old who had a birth during 2008 in Wisconsin, 29.5% of them were unmarried women (widowed, divorced, and never married). There were 57 births per 1,000 women 15 to 50 years old (18 births per 1,000 women 15 to 19 years old, 108 births per 1,000 women 20 to 34 years old, and 25 births per 1,000 women 35 to 50 years old). 33 births per 1,000 unmarried women were recorded in Wisconsin.

Education:

In 2008, there were 3,758,610 people 25 years and over in Wisconsin. 89.6% of them had at least graduated from high school and 25.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Of people 25 years and over, 33.6% had a high school diploma or equivalency, 21.5% had some collage education but no degree, 8.8% had an associate's degree, 17.1% had a bachelor's degree, and 8.6% had a graduate or professional degree. 10.4% were dropouts; meaning that some completed less than 9^th grade (3.7%) and others completed 9^th to 12^th grade but did not receive any diploma (6.7%).

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

The total school enrollment in Wisconsin was 1,441,964 in 2008. Nursery school and kindergarten enrollment was 11.4% (164,567 children), elementary or high school enrollment was 61.2% (882,353 children), and College or graduate school enrollment was 27.4% (395,044 students).

Geographic mobility:

Of all people at least one year old living in Wisconsin in 2008, 85.5% were living in the same residence one year earlier, 8.9% had moved during the past year from another residence in the same county, 3.4% moved from another county in the same state, 1.9% moved from another state, and 0.4% moved from abroad.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

Nativity, language and ancestry:

Of all people living in Wisconsin in 2008, 95.6% were native (including 71.8% who were born in Wisconsin) while 4.4% were foreign born. The world regions of birth of the foreign-born population (excluding population born at sea) are: Latin America - 40.6%, Asia - 30.4%, Europe - 22.5%, Africa - 3.1%, Northern America - 3.1%, and Oceania - 0.3%.

Among people at least five years old living in Wisconsin, 8.1% (425,912 people) spoke a language other than English at home. Of those speaking a language other than English at home, 52.1% spoke Spanish, 27.7% spoke other Indo-European languages, 17.2% spoke Asian and Pacific Islander languages, and 3% spoke some other language. At the same time, 37.4% of them reported that they did not speak English "very well."

As of 2008, the largest reported ancestries in Wisconsin are: German - 44.2%, Irish - 11.6%, Polish - 9.5%, Norwegian - 8.2%, English - 6.6%, French (except Basque) - 3.8%, Italian - 3.7%, Swedish - 2.9%, Dutch - 2.7%, American - 2.7%, Czech - 1.8%, Danish - 1.2%, Scottish - 1.2%, Swiss - 1%, and French Canadian - 1%.

Disability and veteran status:

In 2008, the total civilian noninstitutionalized population of Wisconsin comprised 5,540,009 people (98.4% of all population), 10.7% (594,164 people) of which reported a disability. Of those with disabilities, 50,562 people were under 18 years, 307,402 people were 18 to 64 years old, and 236,200 people were 65 years and older.

The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3.9% of people under 18 years old, to 8.7% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 33.1% of those 65 and older.

There were 438,533 civilian veterans in Wisconsin.

Housing characteristics⁽³⁾ 

Housing information:

In 2008, Wisconsin had a total of 2,568,752 housing units, 12.4% of which were vacant. Of the total housing units, 71.1% were in single-unit structures, 24.9% were in multi-unit structures, and 3.8% were mobile homes. Out of all housing units, 4.6% had no bedroom, 9.3% had 1 bedroom, 27.9% had 2 bedrooms, 40.6% had 3 bedrooms, 14.3% had 4 bedrooms, and 3.4% had 5 and more bedrooms. 25.2% of the housing units were built since 1990.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

Occupied housing unit characteristics:

In 2008, Wisconsin had 2,249,630 occupied housing units, 70.1% were owner occupied while 29.9% were renter occupied. Homeowner vacancy rate was 2 while rental vacancy rate was 6.3. The average household size was 2.57 people for owner-occupied and 2.1 people for renter-occupied units.

Utility gas (66.4%), electricity (12.7%), and bottled, tank, or LP gas (11.1%) were the main energy sources used for house heating in Wisconsin. Other house heating fuels used were: fuel oil and kerosene - 4.4%, wood - 4.3%, and other - 0.9%. 0.3% of housing units used no fuel for house heating.

Of all occupied housing units, 1% did not have telephone service, 0.5% did not have complete plumbing facilities, and 0.7% did not have complete kitchen facilities. In addition, 6.4% did not have access to a car, truck, or van for private use. Multi-vehicle households were common in Wisconsin, 40.6% had two vehicles and 21.1% had three or more vehicles. 31.9% of the households had just one vehicle.

The median value of an owner-occupied housing unit in Wisconsin was $173,300.

Housing costs:

Of all owner-occupied housing units in Wisconsin, 69.1% had a mortgage. The median monthly housing costs for mortgaged owners was $1,424, for nonmortgaged owners was $495, and for renters was $704. 34.2% of owners with mortgages, 15.7% of owners without mortgages, and 45.1% of renters in Wisconsin spent 30% or more of household income on housing.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

Economic characteristics⁽⁴⁾

Employment status, labor force, and type of employer:

Of all population 16 years and older in Wisconsin, 70% (3,133,181 people) were in labor force, 52.4% of them were males while 47.6% were females. 3.6% of all people 16 years and older were unemployed. Civilian labor force unemployment was 5.1%.

In 2008 there were 2,966,446 civilian employed population 16 years and over in Wisconsin. Out of total civilian employed people, 82% were private wage and salary workers; 12.1% were government workers; and 5.8% were self-employed in own not incorporated business workers. The remaining 0.1% were unpaid family workers.

Travel to work:

In 2008, 79.3% of Wisconsin workers drove to work alone, 9.8% carpooled, 1.9% took public transportation, 3.3% walked, and 1.9% used other means of transportation. The remaining 3.8% worked at home. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 21.7 minutes to get to work.

Industries and occupations:

The leading industries among civilian employed population in Wisconsin were: educational services, health care, and social assistance - 21.5%; manufacturing - 19.3%; retail trade - 11.3%; arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services - 7.9%; professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services - 7.8%; finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing - 6.4%; and construction - 6.2%.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

The most common occupations among civilian employed population were: management, professional, and related occupations - 32.7%; sales and office occupations - 24.3%; service occupations - 15.7%; production, transportation, and material moving occupations - 17.9%, and construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations - 8.5%.

Income and benefits:

The median income of households in Wisconsin was $52,094. Median family income was $65,622 and median nonfamily income was $30,610. Per capita income was $26,932. Median earnings for workers comprised $29,279; full-time male worker received $45,266 while full-time female worker received $33,640 per year.

Out of total households, 81.3% received earnings while 17% received retirement income other than Social Security. The average earnings comprised $65,739 while the average retirement income was $19,207. Social Security received 26.7% of all households. The average income from Social Security was $15,850. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Poverty:

In 2008, 10.4% of people had an income below the poverty level. 12.9% of related children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.4% of people 65 years old and over. 6.7% of all families and 25.3% of families with a female householder and no husband present had incomes below the poverty level.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

References:

1. Wisconsin: 2008 Selected Demographic Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
2. Wisconsin: 2008 Selected Social Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
3. Wisconsin: 2008 Selected Housing Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
4. Wisconsin: 2008 Selected Economic Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
5. Wisconsin: 2008 Population and Housing Narrative Profile. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
6. Wisconsin. State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-09.