The local economy of Wisconsin and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
3.2%
+0.1 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Lafayette County 2.5%, highest Menominee County 5.8%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,353
+3.7%vs a year ago
2,902,580 jobs at 207,977 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
25,771
+3.5%this year vs last year
Most in Dane County 6,019, Waukesha County 1,558.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
+2,360
+0.5 per 1,000residents
91,196 moved in and 88,836 moved out. Most newcomers came from Illinois.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Wisconsin gas price
$4.15
+$1.41vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Shawano County $3.95, highest Bayfield County $4.48. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Wisconsin, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
145K
+0.2%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
2.64M
+1.6%vs 2022
Largest sector: Manufacturing (18.2%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$161.5B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$61,090
Highest sector: Utilities $113,251.
Per employee per year
Share of Wisconsin's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 178,473 | $20,290 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 108,267 | $69,125 |
| Employment Services | 92,180 | $47,232 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 75,662 | $110,471 |
| Offices of Physicians | 63,790 | $103,974 |
| Insurance Carriers | 56,882 | $120,330 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 51,839 | $27,626 |
| Grocery Stores | 50,470 | $24,860 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 43,704 | $78,431 |
| General Freight Trucking | 40,127 | $65,519 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 39,744 | $80,689 |
| Individual and Family Services | 39,392 | $31,305 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Wisconsin, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Wisconsin is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Wisconsin, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Wisconsin was 3.2% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 3.1% a year earlier. 3,046,167 people were employed out of a labor force of 3,148,250. Among its counties, Lafayette County had the lowest rate (2.5%) and Menominee County the highest (5.8%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Wisconsin was $1,353 in Q1 2026, up 3.7% from a year earlier, across 2,902,580 jobs at 207,977 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 2,438 new homes in Wisconsin in August 2026 (1,340 single-family and 964 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 16,819, up 3.5% from the same months last year, and 25,771 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Dane County (6,019), Waukesha County (1,558), Brown County (1,551) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 91,196 people moved to Wisconsin and 88,836 moved away, a net gain of 2,360 (+0.5 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Illinois, Minnesota, Florida, and most people who left went to Minnesota, Illinois, Florida.
Regular gasoline in Wisconsin averaged $4.15 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.41 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.22. Among its counties, Shawano County had the lowest regular price ($3.95) and Bayfield County the highest ($4.48).
Manufacturing (479,846 employees), Health Care and Social Assistance (410,656 employees), Retail Trade (312,489 employees) were the largest sectors in Wisconsin in 2023. In all, 144,774 business locations employed 2,642,958 people at an average pay of $61,090 a year.