Fiscal Facts

Drawing upon an unprecedented state surplus of nearly $7 billion, Wisconsin’s new state budget features a combination that might otherwise have seemed impossible

Waukesha County’s affordable housing challenges have reached new heights due to economic trends stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, demanding consideration of strategies to reduce the cost of renting, buying, and building homes.

Wisconsin ranks near the top among Midwestern states for rural population growth in recent decades, as many of its peers experienced rural population decline. Overall, rural Wisconsin counties that have seen the most recent growth are tourism and recreation hubs, primarily located in the state’s Northwoods.

In an encouraging sign, reserves in Wisconsin’s unemployment fund increased last year after they plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2007, nearly 11 million tons of trash were deposited in Wisconsin landfills, with nearly 2 million tons coming from other states.

An alarming picture of the state government workforce emerges from recently published data, which show turnover and vacancy rates among state jobs in Wisconsin reached all-time highs last year.

Recent Wisconsin Policy Forum research examined a critical if overlooked local government service: sanitary and stormwater sewers, and the mounting costs to operate them.

The 2024 budget cycle finds Wisconsin’ largest school district, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), facing the challenges of declining student enrollment and the need to boost employee pay amid record inflation in a tight labor market.

Early childhood education and care provides an essential service to Wisconsin families and supports Wisconsin children at a critical stage of brain development.

While still passing in sizable numbers in the April 2023 election, local ballot referenda to allow school districts to exceed state property tax limits passed at the lowest rate since 2010. The decline comes after years in which such measures were passed in record numbers and amounts.