county

Milwaukee County, WI

Demographic and economic profile of Milwaukee County, WI, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Milwaukee County is a large urban county with a population of 927,656, though it has contracted by 2.8% over the past five years, and its 4.7% unemployment rate and 17.5% poverty rate reflect structural labor market challenges. The workforce of roughly 600,000 labor-force participants skews toward mid-skill roles, with 33.9% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $42,604, while housing costs remain relatively low at a $216,500 median home value and $1,069 monthly median rent. GDP per capita of $66,583 runs notably above median household income of $64,435, and a 49.9% homeownership rate alongside a 22.3-minute mean commute suggest a dense, renter-heavy core county with moderate cost pressures.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

924,740

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$64,435

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

35.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.8% since 2018

Milwaukee County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone467,429 (50.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone239,717 (25.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race78,421 (8.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone49,864 (5.4%)
  • Asian Alone45,162 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races39,404 (4.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish102,315
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island17,475
  3. 3.Other Indo-European11,430
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic4,840
  5. 5.Arabic4,456

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

61.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

14.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

9.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

30,639

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$66,583

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,955

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance119,358
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)69,864
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services51,790
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)47,714
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services38,592

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations184,659
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations83,792
  3. 3.Service Occupations80,222
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations77,401
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations27,079

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.55×)69,569
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.12×)118,110
  3. 3.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 0.98×)29,358
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 0.97×)38,346
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.96×)46,981

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$216,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,069/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

49.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,99935,919 (18.3%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99929,312 (15.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99924,436 (12.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99918,812 (9.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,99916,377 (8.4%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99915,000 (7.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

33.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$42,604

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

12.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone307,631 (68.9%)
  • Worked At Home64,447 (14.4%)
  • Carpooled37,870 (8.5%)
  • Public Transit15,392 (3.4%)
  • Walked13,614 (3.0%)
  • Other3,746 (0.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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More on FDI Connect

Compare Milwaukee County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.