Skip to content

Monday, Dec. 18, 2023

Are Black people in Wisconsin concentrated in the southeastern part of the state?

Jacob Alabab-Moser, Wisconsin Watch
yes

Black residents of Wisconsin chiefly live in the southeastern part of the state, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Wisconsin’s population is 86% white and 7.7% Black, according to the 2020 Census. The Black population is up from 7.1% in 2010. 

Almost 90% of the Black population resides in six counties in the southern part of the state — Milwaukee, Dane, Racine, Kenosha, Rock and Waukesha.

About 59% of all Black people in Wisconsin live in Milwaukee County, which has the largest proportion of Black residents as part of its total population, at 29%. Racine and Kenosha counties are next at 14% and 9%, respectively. 

The concentration of Black population in Wisconsin in the southeastern part of the state today traces back in part to the large-scale migration of Black people from the South to Milwaukee to pursue manufacturing jobs after World War II.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

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 Gigafact contributor publications.

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.