Fiscal Facts

The percentage of Wisconsin high school seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) plummeted during the pandemic, which likely signals a concerning trend for college enrollment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for restaurants and bars in Wisconsin. Due in part to support provided through federal relief funds, employment in this industry has recovered considerably since nosediving by nearly 50% in April 2020.

State excise tax revenues from the sale of alcoholic beverages rose nearly 17% in the 2021 fiscal year, an annual increase that tops any seen in nearly five decades in Wisconsin.

Total equalized property values in Wisconsin increased 6.8% in 2021, the largest one-year increase since 2006. The increase was buoyed by residential property values, which also saw their largest increase in that span. Residential property values statewide grew 7.8% in 2021, the biggest annual percentage increase since 2006.

In reviewing municipal spending, the Wisconsin Policy Forum found communities throughout the state have reduced police spending or staffing for reasons that may have had more to do with their finances than calls for reform.

Education degrees earned at colleges and universities in southeastern Wisconsin declined from 2011 to 2019, raising the question of whether there is a sufficient supply of new K-12 teachers to meet the region’s teacher workforce needs.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a historic drop in Wisconsin public school enrollment in the 2020-21 school year was accompanied by a smaller but still notable decline in private school enrollment, with both concentrated at the lowest grade levels. Meanwhile, homeschool and virtual charter school enrollment rose substantially.

Municipalities throughout Wisconsin saw significant increases in debt in 2019, though property values — which help determine municipal borrowing levels — grew at an even greater rate.

After a decade of modest increases, property taxes in Wisconsin have risen more rapidly over the past two years. Factors contributing to the growth include voter-approved school referenda, increases in state revenue limits on schools, and greater levies by municipalities and counties to make debt payments.

In a state where most higher education institutions are struggling to address financial and enrollment challenges, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee faces some of the greatest difficulties of all.