Wisconsin has the second-biggest net loss of young, educated workers of any state in the country, according to new research that shows the state's brain drain problem has barely moved in nearly two decades. Only North Dakota loses more of its college-educated young adults than Wisconsin does, and the gap is wide enough that business and workforce leaders say they are already feeling it in industries from healthcare to skilled trades.
The findings come from a Wisconsin Policy Forum report that used U.S. Census data to compare workers in their 30s who were born in Wisconsin to those who moved to the state from elsewhere, as reported by Urban Milwaukee. Wisconsin-born residents now living in another state are about 60 percent likely to hold a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with about 45 percent of people who moved into Wisconsin from out of state. Joe Peterangelo, research director at the Wisconsin Policy Forum and a co-author of the report, said there is “a pretty big gap between the education levels of Wisconsin-born residents who leave and people who move in.”
That gap matters because Wisconsin actually outperforms the nation on college completion overall — Wisconsin-born people are more likely to earn a degree than the national average, and the state still looks pretty average on educational attainment despite losing some of its most educated adults. The state's overall population growth from domestic migration between 2020 and 2024 was slightly positive across all age and education levels, per the Wisconsin Policy Forum, which has helped keep Wisconsin's total pool of college-educated residents near the national norm even as its own graduates head elsewhere.
A Problem That Dates Back to 2009
This isn't a new phenomenon. The Wisconsin brain drain is described as a long-standing challenge dating back to at least 2009, when the state posted the worst net brain drain rate in the nation at negative 15.3 percentage points, according to Legally Sociable. Nearly two decades later, the state's ranking has barely improved, suggesting the pattern reflects a chronic structural issue rather than a recent downturn.
The Policy Forum's research also pinpoints where Wisconsin's talent is going and where its replacements are coming from. Minnesota, along with states in the South and West, is drawing away the largest share of Wisconsin's educated young workers, while Wisconsin actually posts a net brain gain from neighboring Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. Illinois stands out regionally, too — the same Legally Sociable analysis notes it is the only Midwest state with a net brain gain, at plus 10.4 percentage points, pointing to Chicago's continued pull on college graduates across the region.
Wisconsin may be particularly vulnerable to that pull because of its proximity to major job hubs. Dale Kooyenga, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said his organization thinks about brain drain “on a weekly basis.” The state is sandwiched between Chicago and the Twin Cities, and the state's own cities are not in the same weight class as those larger metro areas, even though Wisconsin has a lot to offer on quality-of-life and livability measures.
Rural Wisconsin Feels It Hardest
The effects are especially pronounced outside the state's cities. Rural Wisconsin has difficulty filling critical healthcare and pharmacy jobs, and rural communities more broadly lack enough healthcare professionals, veterinarians, lawyers, teachers and candidates for local leadership roles. Tessa Conroy, an associate professor of agriculture and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an economic development specialist with UW-Extension, said rural communities have been worried about brain drain for a long time.
Conroy pointed to “boomerang migrants” — young people who leave rural communities, sometimes for college or early careers, and may eventually return — as one dynamic rural leaders are watching closely. She said rural communities are increasingly shifting their economic development focus from attracting companies and jobs to attracting people and families directly, by investing in affordable housing, child-care access and strong internet connectivity.
Why the Stakes Keep Rising
The urgency stems from where Wisconsin's job growth is headed. In the seven years before the COVID-19 pandemic, job growth in the state was concentrated primarily in higher-paying occupations that require a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum. A majority of Wisconsin job openings paying at least $50,000 a year are expected to be in occupations that typically require a bachelor's or advanced degree by 2030, meaning more college-educated workers moving out than in creates a widening mismatch between the jobs on offer and the workers available to fill them.
Peterangelo said Wisconsin simply needs workers to fill roles as they open up, warning of major potential economic ripple effects if the trend continues. Other states are already experimenting with incentives aimed at reversing similar patterns: Ohio offers discounted mortgage rates to recent college graduates, while Minnesota has launched initiatives specifically designed to recruit people to its rural areas.
Wisconsin has taken some steps of its own. In February 2024, the state enacted a guaranteed admission policy for high school students who graduate in the top 5 percent of their class at any Universities of Wisconsin campus, explicitly aimed at keeping high-performing students in-state, according to PolitiFact. Nearly 90 percent of in-state UW System graduates remain in Wisconsin five years after earning their degree, though retention still varies sharply by campus — UW-Milwaukee keeps 86 percent of its graduates in-state, while flagship UW-Madison retains 54.7 percent after one year and just 40.8 percent after a decade, a gap tied significantly to Madison's larger share of non-resident students who return home after graduating.
