Wisconsin ranks 35th in the number of government workers per population, meaning Wisconsin’s state and local governments are leaner than all but 15 other states. The number of public employees in Wisconsin has fallen over time, and current levels of public employment are significantly lower than they were around the turn of the century.
Wisconsin has Fewer State and Local Government Employees than the National Average
Compared to other states, Wisconsin has relatively few state and local government employees for the size of our population. Wisconsin had 49.6 government employees per 1,000 residents in 2015, 2.1% less than the national average. Put another way, for every 100 public employees in other states, Wisconsin has only 98.
Fewer government employees means that Wisconsin governments spend less on public payrolls. For each person that lived in the state, Wisconsin spent 6.3% less than the national average on public payrolls, ranking 25th among the states.
Another reason that public payroll costs in Wisconsin are low is that public employees in Wisconsin earn less than the national average. The payroll per employee in Wisconsin was 4.2% below the national average.
In Wisconsin, about 1 out of every 8 jobs is in state or local government.
This analysis is based on recently-released state and local government employment figures collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, which publishes public employment levels for March of each year. Because different states delegate responsibilities to different levels of government, combining state and local government employees gives a better picture of the size of a state’s public sector than does looking at each level of government independent of the other.
Government Employment in Wisconsin has Fallen over Time
The number of government employees in Wisconsin population fluctuates from one year to the next, but the general pattern shows a decline in the number of public employees over time. Wisconsin had 49.6 state and local government FTEs per 1,000 state residents in 2015, down 7% from a high of 53.3 employees in 2001. If Wisconsin government employment levels had stayed at the 2001 peak levels, Wisconsin would have 21,000 additional government employees over the current levels.
Most Public Employees Work in Education
State and local government workers in Wisconsin are concentrated in the field of education. Six out of ten government employees work in education, mostly in K-12 schools. A smaller number of employees work in higher education.
There are also significant concentrations of state and local government employees working in health and human services, police and fire, corrections, and transportation.
Most government employees in Wisconsin work in local government. Wisconsin’s public sector employed 286,000 FTEs in 2015, 74% of whom worked at the local level.
Wisconsin’s Lean Public Sector
Wisconsin has long had a lean public sector compared to other states, and in 2015 the number of state and local government workers per Wisconsin resident stayed considerably below national levels. State‑imposed constraints on property taxes and reductions in state support for local governments have likely contributed to the decline.
An efficient, effective public sector helps Wisconsin families and businesses thrive. Government employees teach Wisconsin’s children, repair our transportation network, and keep our communities safe — all activities that help make Wisconsin a good place to do business and raise families.
Tamarine Cornelius