Wisconsin’s workforce could shrink substantially by 2030 if the state can’t find a way to attract new residents, according to a new study of migration to and from the state.
In the report released Wednesday by Forward Analytics, the research division of the Wisconsin Counties Association, researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census to project the size of the change. They also used income tax records to understand who’s leaving Wisconsin and who’s moving in.
Using data from the U.S. Census, the researchers predict a steep decline in the number of Wisconsinites in their prime working years by 2030. If the same migration trends seen between the 2010 and 2020 counts were to continue to 2030, when much of the state’s large population of younger baby boomers will have aged out of the workforce, researchers project the state would have about 130,000 fewer residents between the ages of 25 and 64.
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