According to the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Wisconsin’s gross state product was $211.7 billion. The per capita personal income was $32,157 in 2004.
The economy of Wisconsin is driven by manufacturing, agriculture, and health care. Although manufacturing accounts for a far greater part of the state’s income than farming, Wisconsin is often perceived as a farming state. It produces more dairy products than any other state in the United States except California, and leads the nation in cheese production. Wisconsin ranks second behind California in overall production of milk and butter, and it ranks third in per-capita milk production, behind Idaho and Vermont. Based on poll results, Governor Jim Doyle chose for Wisconsin’s 50 State Quarters design a Holstein cow, an ear of corn, and a wheel of cheese. Wisconsin ranks first in the production of corn for silage, cranberries, ginseng, and snap beans for processing. Wisconsin is also a leading producer of oats, potatoes, carrots, tart cherries, maple syrup, and sweet corn for processing.
Given Wisconsin’s strong agricultural tradition, it is not surprising that a large part of the state’s manufacturing sector deals with food processing. Some well known food brands produced in Wisconsin include Oscar Mayer, Tombstone frozen pizza, Johnsonville brats, and Usinger’s sausage. Kraft Foods alone employs over 5,000 people in the state. Milwaukee is a major producer of beer and the home of Miller Brewing Company’s world headquarters, the nation’s second-largest brewer. Schlitz, Blatz, and Pabst used to be cornerstone breweries within the city of Milwaukee. Today, Milwaukee’s economy is more diverse with an emphasis on health care. In 2004, four of the city’s ten largest employers (including the top two) were part of the health care industry.
Badger State
State Animal: Badger
State Domesticated
Animal: Dairy Cow
State Wild Animal: White-tailed Deer
State Beverage: Milk
State Fruit: Cranberry
State Bird: Robin
State Capital: Madison
State Dog: American Water Spaniel
State Fish: Muskellunge
State Flower: Wood Violet
State Fossil: Trilobite
State Grain: Corn
State Insect: European honey bee
State Motto: Forward
State Song: “On, Wisconsin!”
State Tree: Sugar Maple
State Mineral: Galena
(Lead sulfide)
State Rock: Red Granite
State Soil: Antigo Silt Loam
State Dance: Polka
State Symbol of
Peace: Mourning Dove
Wisconsin is also home to several transportation equipment and machinery manufacturers. Major Wisconsin companies in these categories include the Kohler Company, Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls, Briggs & Stratton, Miller Electric, Milwaukee Electric Tool Company, Bucyrus International, Oshkosh Truck, and Harley-Davidson. Wisconsin also ranks first nationwide in the production of paper products; the lower Fox River from Lake Winnebago to the Bay of Green Bay has 24 paper mills along its 39 mile (63 km) stretch. The largest paper companies with operations in Wisconsin are Kimberly-Clark and Georgia-Pacific, both of which rank among the state’s top ten employers.
The development and manufacture of health care devices and software is a growing sector of the state’s economy with key players such as GE Healthcare, Epic Systems, and TomoTherapy.
Tourism is also a major industry in Wisconsin — the state’s third largest, according to the Department of Tourism. This is largely attributed to the 90 attractions in the Wisconsin Dells family vacation destination area, which attracts nearly 3 million visitors per year. Tourist destinations such as the House on the Rock near Spring Green and Circus World Museum in Baraboo also draw thousands of visitors annually, and festivals such as Summerfest and the EAA Oshkosh Airshow draw national attention along with hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Wisconsin collects personal income tax based on four income-level brackets, which range from 4.6% to 6.75%. The state sales and use tax rate is 5%. Fifty-nine counties have an additional sales/use tax of 0.5%. The counties surrounding Milwaukee County have an additional 0.5% tax imposed upon them to fund the new baseball stadium, Miller Park, which was constructed around the turn of the century. Retailers who make sales subject to applicable county taxes must collect 5.5% tax on their retail sales.
The most common property tax assessed on Wisconsin residents is the real property tax, or their residential property tax. Wisconsin does not impose a property tax on vehicles but does levy an annual registration fee. Property taxes are the most important tax revenue source for Wisconsin’s local governments, as well as major methods of funding school districts, vocational technical colleges, special purpose districts and tax incremental finance districts. Equalized values are based on the full market value of all taxable property in the state, except for agricultural land. In order to provide property tax relief for farmers, the value of agricultural land is determined by its value for agricultural uses, rather than for its possible development value. Equalized values are used to distribute state aid payments to counties, municipalities, and technical colleges. Assessments prepared by local assessors are used to distribute the property tax burden within individual municipalities.
Wisconsin does not assess a tax on intangible property. Wisconsin does not collect inheritance taxes. Wisconsin’s estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws; therefore the state imposes its own estate tax on certain large estates.
