Harald KliemsThe latest US Census Bureau 2025 county-level population estimates are out. Some quick charts: In Wisconsin, Dane County continues its relatively steady growth, adding about 4000 people compared to the previous year.
Looking at the largest counties by population in Wisconsin, Milwaukee county population declined, Dane, Waukesha, Racine went up modestly, and the other counties appear relatively stable.
Looking at growth/decline in population more explicitly, Dane County had the highest absolute growth between 2020 and 2025; Milwaukee had the greatest population loss (but remains by far the most populous county in the state).
andrew773@haraldkliems Not sure about in Milwaukee but for Chicago the mid decade census estimates have been really inaccurate. They predicted we'd see a decline from 2010 to 2020 but we grew and many people believe the 2020 count was an undercount because the Trump regime terrorized immigrants from participating.
@andrew773 Fair enough. For Wisconsin, the Department of Administration also produces population estimates: https://doa.wi.gov/DIR/Final_Ests_Co_2025.pdf They have 945,292 for MKE county in 2025, whereas the census bureau has 924,216. Quite the difference, and I'm not entirely sure whose numbers are more trustworthy or accurate.
Obbie King@haraldkliems "Dane County continues its relatively steady growth, adding about 4000 people compared to the previous year."
I'd be curious how many new housing units were added last year to hold those 4000 people. I'm guessing the answer is something resembling "not enough."
@ObbieZ I think the housing unit estimates will be released in May. So we'll see!