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Central Wisconsin achieved a statistical
milestone with the census of 1990. The population of our region surpassed the
quarter million mark. This report is intended to describe and analyze current
demographic, economic, and social characteristics of the people of Central
Wisconsin. Our purpose is to provide useful data that will help:
-business managers and government
administrators make good decisions.
-government officials analyze
important issues and plan for future development.
-the general
public become aware and understand many characteristics of their community.
The information in this report was compiled and
calculated from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Wisconsin Department of
Administration, Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance, and Wisconsin Vital
Statistics. Central Wisconsin figures are
averages of the values for Marathon, Portage, and Wood Counties weighted by the
respective populations of those counties.
CONTENTS
1. Population Growth in Central Wisconsin
2. Age Profile
3. Families and Households
4. Community Characteristics
5. Economic Status
6. Housing
7. Summary and
Conclusions
1.
Population: Size and Change
The population of
Central Wisconsin expanded by
3.7 percent during the 1980s. Of the three counties in the
Central Wisconsin
area, Portage County had the greatest population growth (6.9%), followed by
Marathon
County (3.7%), and then Wood County (1.1%).
There are three demographic factors involved in
population growth and decline: births, deaths, and (net) migration. When births
exceed deaths, natural increase has occurred. Net migration is the difference
between the number of in‑migrants and the number of out‑migrants.
How much of the growth in the
Central Wisconsin area in the
decade from 1980 to 1990 is attributable to natural increase, and how much is
due to net migration?
For all three counties in our area, all of the
population increase during the 1980's was due to natural increase, and all three
counties experienced net out‑migration. Although we grew by 7.7 percent due to
natural increase, we lost 4 percent of our population due to net out‑migration,
leaving an overall increase of 3.7 percent.
Wood County had the highest
level of out‑migration (5.9%), followed by
Marathon
County (4.1%), and Portage County (1.3%).
The trends in population growth and migration in the
Central Wisconsin region
paralleled those of the state as a whole. State demographers have estimated that
over the past ten years, out‑migration has consumed nearly forty percent of
Wisconsin's natural increase.
The net migration was not constant over the decade. Most took
place during the economic downturn of the early 1980's, and subsequent years
seem to have slowed this outflow.
Caution is necessary in interpreting net migration figures
which are estimates rather than exact numbers, and are calculated by subtracting
the natural increase from the total population growth. However, the general
conclusion that much of the area's natural increase was consumed by net
out‑migration is probably accurate.
An advantage of a slowly growing population is the
ability of local businesses and governments to provide high quality and well
planned services and facilities. A disadvantage is commensurate slow growth in
retail sales, construction, and tax revenues.
TABLE 1A
Population: Size and Change
Population of: 1960
1970 1980 1990
United States
(millions) 180.7 205.1
227.8 251.5
Percent change
from previous
period ‑‑‑‑‑ 13.5%
11.1% 10.4%
Wisconsin
(thousands) 3,952
4,418 4,706 4,892
Percent change
from previous
period ‑‑‑‑‑ 11.8%
6.5% 4.0%
Central
Wisconsin 184,943 210,360
241,489 250,410
Percent change
from previous
period ‑‑‑‑‑ 13.7%
14.8% 3.7%
Marathon
County 88,874 97,457
111,270 115,400
Percent change
from previous
period ‑‑‑‑‑ 9.7%
14.2% 3.7%
Portage
County 36,964 47,541
57,420 61,405
Percent change
from previous
period ‑‑‑‑‑ 28.6%
20.8% 6.9%
Wood
County 59,105
65,362 72,799 73,605
Percent change
from previous
period ‑‑‑‑‑ 10.6%
11.4% 1.1%
TABLE 1B
Components of Population Change In
Central Wisconsin, 1980-1990
Central WI
Portage Marathon Wood
County County County
1980‑90 1980‑90 1980‑90 1980‑90
Population change
8,921 3 985
4,130 806
Percent Change 3.7%
9.9% 3.7% 1.1%
Births
37,140 8,760 17,165
11,215
Deaths
18,610 4,030 8,460
6,120
Natural increase
18,530 4,730 8,705
5,095
Percent Change 7.7%
8.2% 7.8% 7.0%
Net Migration
‑9,609 ‑745
‑4,575 ‑4,289
Percent Change ‑4.0%
‑1.3% ‑4.1% ‑5.9%
2.
Age Profile
In 1990, the median age in
Central Wisconsin was 32. This
is almost one year younger than the national and state averages. The reason for
this difference is that our local population has a slightly higher percentage of
children (0‑17; 27.5%) than the U.S, which is about two percentage points lower.
However, the share of our elderly population (65+) is approximately equal to the
national average.
Although
Portage County is the youngest
county in the region, the average age of its population in 1990 is four years
older than in 1980. This is primarily due to lower enrollments at UW‑Stevens
Point relative to the size of the county population.
The percentage of the population consisting of children and
elderly persons has been decreasing for the state and region. However, this
measure, called the total age dependency ratio, is quite high for
Wood County due to a large
percentage of elderly residents.
TABLE 2
Age Profile
Central
Marathon
Portage Wood
Wisconsin Wisconsin County
County County
Percent of population in each age category:
under
18 26.4% 27.5% 28.1%
25.8% 28.0%
18 ‑
64 60.3% 59.9% 59.3%
63.4% 57.9%
65 and
over 13.3% 12.6% 12.6%
10.8% 14.2%
Median age
32.9 32.0 32.7
29.4 33.2
Total age
dependency ratio
65.8 67.2 68.7
57.7 72.8
3.
Families and Households
Marriage and divorce rates have
decreased since the last census in
Central Wisconsin.
The divorce to marriage rate has also declined. The average size of households
has significantly decreased in our region with single person households
accounting for almost 22 percent of all living units. Married couples constitute
only 63 percent of all households which amounts to a 7 percent decrease since
1980.
Female headed families continue
to increase as a percentage of all households, and now constitute 12.6 percent
of all families with children. In
Central Wisconsin, 86 percent of children live in two parent
households.
TABLE 3
Health and Family
Characteristics
Central
Marathon
Portage
Wood
Wisconsin Wisconsin
County County County
Birth and death rates are
averages for 1986‑1990.
Births per 1000 14.8 14.1
14.6 14.3 13.3
Deaths per 1000 8.7 7.6
7.8 6.8 8.0
Marriages per 1000 8.0 8.0
7.7 7.5 8.8
Divorces per 1000 3.6 3.3
3.3 3.0 3.6
Divorces/Marriages
per 1000 455 416
425 405 411
Persons per household 2.68 2.77 2.78
2.88 2.68
Percent of households
consisting of married
couples 58.3% 62.8%
64.2% 60.6% 62.5%
Percent of households
consisting of female
headed families 9.3% 7.4%
7.4% 6.8% 8.0%
Percent of families
with children that
are female headed 17.4% 12.6% 11.0%
11.8% 15.8%
Percent of children
living with two parents 79.5% 86.0% 87.2%
85.6% 84.6%
Percent of households
consisting of persons
living alone 24.2% 21.9%
21.0% 21.9% 23.4%
4. Community Characteristics
Educational attainment is very important to area citizens and to the businesses
and government organizations that employ them. Four‑fifths of Central Wisconsin
adults have at least a high school education, which is roughly the same as for
the state as a whole, but the proportion of local residents who have college
diplomas is below the state average.
Our communities have a low incidence of crime with
Wood County being
especially low on property crimes and
Marathon
County
low on violent crimes.
Central Wisconsin workers live closer to their jobs than do workers in
other parts of the state. The average commuting time for
Central Wisconsin residents is
a low 15.5 minutes. Only 12 percent of workers regularly commuted outside their
county of residence, and a similar percent traveled over 30 minutes to work.
Despite the importance of agriculture in
Central Wisconsin, only
Marathon County has more than 5 percent of its population living on farms.
TABLE 4
Education, Crime, and Commuting
Central
Marathon
Portage Wood
Wisconsin Wisconsin
County County County
Educational attainment (age 25
and over)
less than high
school graduate 21.4% 22.1% 23.4%
20.3% 21.6%
high school
graduate or more 62.9% 65.3% 64.3%
66.4% 65.9%
college degree
or more 16.2% 13.3%
12.3% 16.1% 12.6%
Crime rates per 1,000 population.
property crime rate
41.6 32.6 32.3 36.5 29.9
violent crime rate 2.6 1.5
1.2 1.6 2.0
Commuting patterns, percent of workers that:
worked outside county
of residence 21.4% 12.0% 12.0%
13.1% 11.0%
traveled over 30
minutes to work 18.6% 12.3% 12.7%
12.1% 11.7%
average travel
time to work 18.0 15.5
16.0 15.0 15.0
Percent of population living in:
urban
area 65.7% 54.2% 56.3%
50.8% 53.9%
rural area 34.3% 45.8%
43.7% 49.2% 46.1%
farm 4.0% 5.6%
7.0% 4.7% 4.2%
5. Economic Status
Central Wisconsin residents
have a strong attachment to the labor force. Two‑thirds of eligible individuals
were employed at the time of the Census, and only 5 percent were unemployed.
Unemployment rates were very similar to the national average. Marathon County
had especially high employment and low unemployment rates.
Incomes in our region are somewhat lower than for the
state. Portage
County's
per capita income is the lowest in Central Wisconsin, and
Wood County has the
highest. However, median family income is almost identical to the state average,
and the incidence of poverty in Central Wisconsin is below the state poverty
rate. Clearly, Portage County has the highest poverty rate in the area. Special
concerns are the high poverty rate for children, and the fact that female headed
families with children have only 38 percent of the income received by married
couples with children.
TABLE 5
Economic Status
Central
Marathon
Portage Wood
Wisconsin Wisconsin
County County County
Labor force information:
Employed
2,386,439 122,042 57,719 30,150 34,173
Unemployed 130,799 6,174 2,360
1,590 2,224
Not in labor force 1,210,873 60,440 26,238
15,408 18,794
Employment rate 64.0% 64.7% 66.9%
63.9% 61.9%
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Unemployment rate 5.2% 4.8% 3.9%
5.0% 6.1%
Family Income:
median $35,082 $34,957 $34,988
$34,926 $34,933
mean $40,649 $39,750 $40,206
$39,012 $39,649
female headed
family with
children $15,322 $16,573 $16,077
$18,456 $15,780
married couples
with children $45,509 $44,121 $45,196
$42,150 $44,077
Per capita income $13,276 $12,597 $12,718
$11,730 $13,130
Poverty rate: 10.7% 9.3%
7.9% 12.9% 8.5%
Children's poverty rate 14.9% 11.4% 10.3%
13.6% 11.2%
6.
Housing
Central Wisconsin has
significantly lower housing costs than the state as a whole. The median value of
homes in our region is 12 percent less than the state average. Portage County
has a higher proportion of newer homes, and that pushes up the average value
compared to the rest of Central Wisconsin. A very high percentage of owner
occupied homes exists in this region.
TABLE 6
Housing
Central
Marathon
Portage Wood
Wisconsin Wisconsin
County County County
Percent of housing
units that are owner
occupied 66.7% 73.2%a 74.7%
70.3% 73.3%
Median year built 1960 1963
1960 1970 1962
Mean value $71,337 $59,642 $60,380
$63,278 55,454
Median value $62,100 $54,316 $54,600
$58,600 $50,300
7. Summary and Conclusions
This report has provided a general overview of
Central Wisconsin residents.
The information comes mainly from 1990 Census data and should be useful for
planning, decision making, and simply understanding our region.
For the first time, the population of
Central Wisconsin increased to
over a quarter of a million. However, the most significant fact is that the rate
of growth has slowed dramatically compared to the previous two decades.
The people of our area are slightly younger than the
average for the state and nation. This situation is due to a higher proportion
of children in our local population.
Low birth rates, an increase in persons living alone, and an
increase in female headed families has resulted in continuing decreases in
household size down to 2.8 persons in our region. However, the proportion of
children that live with two parents is a rather high 86 percent.
Central Wisconsin's population
is still 46 percent rural, and that helps explain our low crime rates and short
commuting times. Given the rural character of our population, its educational
attainment is impressive.
Central Wisconsin residents
work hard as evidenced by their labor force participation, and their family
incomes are comparable to the state average. Except for Portage County, poverty
rates are relatively low. An extremely high percent of our population lives in
owner occupied homes, and the costs are quite reasonable. |
