Milwaukee city, county populations in decline, forecasters say

Link to January 11 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

Excerpt:

From his 10th-floor office near Capitol Square in Madison, state demographer David Egan-Robertson can see the future of Milwaukee.

And it's shrinking.

Between the 2000 census and the year 2035, Egan-Robertson calculates that Milwaukee County's population will decline by some 77,000 residents. That projected loss will knock down the county's population from 940,164 in 2000 to 863,000 in 2035.

Egan-Robertson, of the state's Demographic Services Center, also calculates that the city of Milwaukee's population will decline from 596,974 residents in 2000 to 544,000 in 2030.

"The experience of Milwaukee is not terribly different from other large cities," Egan-Robertson said. "If you look at the metropolitan area beyond the borders of the city, it's a fairly common experience. I don't know if Milwaukee likes to be compared to places like Detroit, but compared to Detroit it's doing OK."

Population estimates are the demographic version of gazing into a crystal ball. They point to the future, but that future is by no means guaranteed.

Wisconsin 2035 report found here.

Of note.

Table 5: Wisconsin population projections by 5-year groups, all persons. (p. 11)

Figure 6: Wisconsin county growth rates. (p.14)

Figure 7: Proportion of county population age 65 and older. (p. 18)

Microsoft Excel files detailing state, county, and municipal projections are found at

http://www.doa.state.wi.us/demographics

(See also page 24 of report.)

Interesting projections in Retiring Guy's neck of the woods.

City (2005 estimated pop.) (2030 projected pop.)

(Currently unlibraried) Fitchburg (22,677) (34,488)

Middleton (16,803) (22,308)

Sun Prairie (24,458) (40,948)

Verona (9,289) (17,488)

(The only) Waunakee (in the world) (10,460) (17,996)