Fiscal Facts

State and local governments in Wisconsin have begun to spend funds they have received from the state’s opioid settlements, which have totaled $208 million so far and will total roughly $780 million by 2038. 

Amid a recent sea change in the legality of sports betting, Wisconsin has chosen a middle path between states where it remains illegal, and those that permit online gaming.

State and local taxes fell once again as a share of Wisconsinites’ incomes in 2024, pushing this ratio — known as the state and local tax burden — to its lowest level since at least 1970. 

As consumers turn more heavily to online purchases, cardboard recycling has more than doubled in Wisconsin since 2013, while other paper recycling has dropped by 36%. 

Wisconsin policymakers are nearing a crossroads on how to fund the state’s transportation system, as transportation revenues lag, project costs sharply increase, and a growing reliance on the state’s general fund may prove unsustainable.

The total number of Milwaukee Police Department arrests, traffic stops, and contacts with citizens dropped precipitously in recent years, raising questions about the impact of these trends on public safety and police-community relations.

Gross K-12 property taxes in Wisconsin are expected to rise by the largest amount since 2009, spurred both by per pupil revenue limit increases and a historic number of approved school district referenda.

Heading into the 2025-27 state budget, Wisconsin retains impressive reserves that put the state in a strong fiscal position. But at the same time, after soaring to previously unseen heights two years ago, Wisconsin’s budget has predictably returned much closer to earth.

The ratio of state and local taxes that Wisconsinites paid as a share of their personal income fell to the lowest levels on record in 2022.

A record number of school district referenda went before voters across Wisconsin in 2024, who responded by approving them in record numbers.