Skip to content

Wednesday, Nov 11, 2026

Are the majority of University of Wisconsin-Madison freshmen from Wisconsin?

Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch
no

Since the 2021-22 school year, the majority of freshmen entering the University of Wisconsin-Madison came from outside Wisconsin:

2026-27: 8,587 / 3,920 (45.7% from Wisconsin)

2025-26: 8,500 / 3,828 (45%) 

2024-25: 8,516 / 3,825 (44.9%)

2023-24: 7,966 / 3,813 (47.9%)

2022-23: 8,628 / 3,787 (43.9%)

2021-22: 8,465 / 3,859 (45.6%)

2020-21: 7,306 / 3,802 (52%) 

The trend was cited by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany during the gubernatorial campaign.

The 2026-27 freshman class included students from all 72 Wisconsin counties, all 50 states and more than 50 countries. 

In 2015, UW-Madison committed to continue enrolling at least 3,600 Wisconsin residents in each freshman class.

A 2026 peer-reviewed study done by non-UW professors found that after UW-Madison removed its enrollment cap on nonresidents, tuition revenue increased 47% with “no evidence of negative effects on” resident-student enrollment.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

See all fact briefs

Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.