Wisconsin Demographics

For information about Wisconsin Demographics, please visit the following link to go to Wisconsin Department of Commerece.

Local Trends and Demographics

Report and Analysis by Beverly Stencel
University of Wisconsin-Extension, Washburn County

Who are the people of Washburn County? How old are they? How large are their households? Where do they live? How does this compare to our bordering counties, the region, the state, and the nation?

The challenge with non-census years is that demographic data comes out sporadically and the data years don’t always correspond. Some data sets, especially at the county and municipal level, are collected only through the Census and so are only updated every ten years. The January 1 population estimates and the equalized value information in this article cover 2006. The rest of the data is reported for 2005, 2004 and from the 2000 Census. In all instances, the data is clearly labeled as to the year it pertains to. However, caution needs to be exercised when making comparisons between data sets.

Population Estimates

The 2000 Census data showed Washburn County with a population of 16,036. In non-census years, population estimates prepared by the Demographic Services Center of the Wisconsin Department of Administration are used to determine such things as shared revenue payments to counties. The January 1, 2006 estimated population for Washburn County is 17,236. This is a 7.48% increase from the 2000 Census population and an almost 10% increase over the January 1, 2005 estimated population of 17,000.

All six counties in the Northwestern region of Wisconsin saw a population increase in 2006. Washburn County was right on track with Sawyer County, which led with just a slightly (.02%) greater increase. But Washburn County grew at a substantially higher rate than Ashland County’s 0.24% and Douglas County’s 1.49%. Washburn County growth also outpaced Bayfield County’s growth of 5.43% and Burnett County’s 6.0% increase in population.

An Aging Population

Washburn County is a typical retirement destination county in its dependence on in-migration for its entire estimated increase in population. From 2000 to 2005, Washburn County had an estimated increase in population of 964 people. During this time, deaths outnumbered births in the county 862 to 788, respectively. This has been the trend in Washburn County since the 1990 census. This trend of county deaths outnumbering county births is predicted to continue, with the gap growing larger, right through the year 2025. However, with in-migration predicted to start slowing down over the next fifteen years, the pace of county population growth will also slow.

Many of the new migrants to the county are retirees settling into homes on Washburn County’s many lakes. Couple this with the large aging baby boom segment of the population, those born between 1943 and 1960, and it is not surprising that the fastest growing segment of the Washburn County population from Census 2000 to July 1, 2005 was the 45-64 year age range. The 22% increase in this population group in the county far out-paced the increases in the next two largest age groups, the 5% increase in over 65 years and the 4% increase in the 18-44 age range. The county’s population under the age of 17 years actually decreased 11% from Census 2000 to July 1, 2005.

Numerically, at 5,330 individuals, the 45-64 age range is the largest in Washburn County comprising over 30% of the population. With 3,120 persons, the over 65 age range represents 18% of the county’s population. This is well over the 4% this age represents at the state level. What else is significant to note about the over 65 age group is that the subset of those over 85 years saw a 25% increase from 2000 to 2005 and totals almost 500 persons in Washburn County.

The 2000 Census indicated that the median age in Washburn County was 42.1 compared to 36 for the state and 35.3 for the nation. Median age means half of the population is older and half is younger. This higher-than-average median age in Washburn County reflects its retirement destination status and dependence entirely on migration for population growth Washburn County is not alone in this trend.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, rural America has had a net increase of a half-million people 60 and older moving in as compared with seniors leaving those areas. Washburn County is considered one a 277 non-metro “retirement destination counties”. According to this USDA study, seniors are drawn to rural areas by the recreational opportunities, slower pace, lower cost of living, to return to childhood haunts, to turn vacation houses into year-round homes, and/or a desire for a fresh start in a smaller community.

In contrast to the increases in the above 45 age groups, the number of young children continues to decline in Washburn County. At 3,400 the under age 17 group continues to make up only 5% of the population in Washburn County, the same percentage as in the 2000 Census. This group also continues to experience a decrease in actual numbers, experiencing a 9% decrease in the decade 1990 to 2000 and an 11% decrease from 2000 to 2005. This county trend towards no growth in the numbers of children is not likely to reverse in the near future.

According to the 2005 American Community Survey estimates, the number of school aged children (5-17) in Wisconsin has declined by about 70,000 since Census 2000. This decline in K-12 school enrollment held true in Washburn County where every school district except Northwood experienced declining enrollments from the fall of 2000 to the fall of 2005. This decline is party due to the relative lull in birth numbers in the late 1990’s and partly due to migration. Young adults and families tend to move away from more remote areas of the state, including the north, towards locations within commuting distance of metro centers.

Housing and Population Growth

Permits for new residential construction in Washburn County has been above 400 since 2003 and in 2005 it pushed close to 500 with 492 permits issued for new non-commercial construction. There were 114 permits issued for additions.

County valuation continues to increase too. Washburn County has been experiencing some of the greatest increases in the state in equalized value. For many years, the county ranked in the top ten, and even in the number one spot, for equalized (full market) value increases. The equalized valuation in the county increased 77% from 2001 to 2006.

Although Washburn County’s 11.99% increase in equalized value from 2005 to 2006 did drop it from the number three to the number twelve ranking for growth in the state, this still ranked higher than all neighboring counties (Barron ranked 33, Burnett ranked 35, Douglas ranked 37 and Sawyer ranked 18). Only the regional counties of Rusk, ranking 6th, and Bayfield, ranking 8th, were in the top ten.

The list of municipalities with the greatest dollar amount of new construction does not match the list of municipalities with the greatest percentage increase in population. This would seem to indicate that the highest value in new construction was due to seasonal, not permanent, housing starts. The Towns of Minong and Trego experienced the greatest dollar amount of new construction, at $6,083,300 and $6,084,300 respectively. The Cities of Spooner and Shell Lake are at distant third and fourth at $4,727,100 and $4,915,400 respectively.

However, it was the Towns of Bashaw, Bass Lake and Birchwood that had the greatest percent increase in estimated population from the 2000 Census to January 1, 2005. Bashaw, at 17.26% ranks first in the county with 159 additional township residents. This places Bashaw first not only percentage-wise but also numerically. Bass Lake and Birchwood, with16.64% (89 persons) and 14.79% (67 persons), ranked second and third in percentage increases for estimated population growth since 2000.

When you look at the estimated numeric, rather than percentage, increases in population, the Town of Trego ends up not only second in increased ivaluation, but also second in the number of new people,103. No other municipalities besides Bashaw and Trego had population increases of over 100 people.

One municipality, the Town of Chicog, actually lost population from 2000 to 2005, with an estimated decrease in population of 5 persons for a 1.87% decrease.

Recreational Housing

Wisconsin ranked eighth in the nation, at the time of the 2000 Census, for percent of seasonal homes, with 6.1% (Maine ranked first at 15.6%). The natural amenities that Washburn County has, its abundance of woods and water, attracts many seasonal residents to the county.

Of the 11,878 estimated housing units in Washburn County as of April 1, 2005, 61% were occupied. That left 39% of the households in the county unoccupied. That figure is higher than the Wisconsin Department of Administration estimated current state average of 10% unoccupied housing units. This 61% county housing occupancy rate has been consistent in the county from 2000-2006. Back in 1981, only 51% of county housing was occupied. In 1992, there was 57% occupancy. The increase in occupancy rate may be a reflection of the conversion of seasonal housing into year-round residences as the oldest of the baby boomers reach retirement age

The county with the highest percent of unoccupied housing units in the area is Sawyer with 52%. Both Burnett and Bayfield counties have 47% of their total housing units unoccupied. Again, as in Washburn County, those percentages reflect the high number of seasonal housing stock in the lake-rich recreational counties.

Households

The Census 2000, the latest year for which the data is available, reported that average household size in Washburn County decreased to 2.39 people from the 2.48 reported in 1995 and the 2.49 reported in 1990. That was fewer than both the state average household size of 2.5 and the national average of 2.59.

Families without children greatly outnumbered all other household types in the county, constituting 37 percent of all households. That was higher than the state average of 34.6 percent. One-person households were second in numbers in the county with 26.7 percent, mirroring the state percent of 26.8. Married households with children under 18 years ranked third in the county with 20.6 percent, almost 10 percent below the state percentage of 29.5.