Wisconsin’s economy has been growing since 2017, but it is hardly breaking any speed records. Over the 2017 to 2024 period, the state ranked 38th in real GDP growth, trailing most of the country. The gap shows up in both the workforce and housing: Wisconsin’s labor force grew by roughly 1.1 percent while the national labor force rose about 5 percent, and Forward Analytics reports that its housing affordability index turned negative in 2024.
What the report measured
According to a report by Forward Analytics, researchers compared Wisconsin to other states using six measures: median household income, personal income, population growth, labor force growth, the poverty rate and real GDP. The group, the research arm of the Wisconsin Counties Association, found Wisconsin in the bottom third of states on population and labor force growth and said real GDP rose about 10.1 percent from 2017 to 2024, roughly half the national rate. The report frames the problem as both demographic and competitive, arguing that slower workforce expansion puts a ceiling on long-term output and wage gains.
Why demography matters
Forward Analytics director Kevin Dospoy told Wisconsin Public Radio that much of Wisconsin’s population growth is among residents 65 and older, which shrinks the share of prime-age workers. “We’re lagging other states in almost all of them,” Dospoy said, pointing to the mismatch between population growth and labor force participation. That imbalance, he said, reduces the pool of available workers and holds back gains in output and incomes across the state.
Workforce gap in plain numbers
Coverage by Urban Milwaukee notes that Wisconsin’s labor force grew about 1.1 percent over that seven year window while the national labor force rose roughly 5 percent, a divergence that began around the mid 2010s and has only widened. The split shows up in county-level data: even the state’s largest economies, Dane, Waukesha and Milwaukee counties, have GDP per worker below comparable national peers, which limits wage growth and business expansion. That pattern leaves some regions fighting to keep young workers, rather than marketing themselves as magnets for large employers with big payrolls.
Housing affordability is squeezing recruits
In a Forward Analytics spotlight on affordability, the group’s housing affordability index turned negative in 2024, meaning a median-earning household often cannot afford the median-priced home in many counties. Forward Analytics links that shift to higher home prices and interest rates, problems that make it harder for communities to attract the young families and working professionals that states rely on for future growth.
What policymakers are hearing
Dospoy told Wisconsin Public Radio that tackling housing and workforce constraints should sit at the center of state and local strategies for boosting long-term growth. Analysts cited in the report recommend a mix of more housing production, targeted workforce training and recruitment policies to close the gap with faster-growing peer states. Lawmakers’ choices in upcoming budget and economic development debates will help determine whether Wisconsin starts to catch up or continues to slip further behind.
Bottom line
The Forward Analytics study portrays Wisconsin as a state that is still growing, but at a pace that risks leaving it behind without stronger efforts to expand its workforce and relieve housing pressure. For the full county breakdowns and discussion, see Forward Analytics and coverage by Urban Milwaukee.
