State
County
Land Area
96.2 sq mi
Density
6,110.4/sq mi
2020 Growth Rate
-0.21%
Growth Since 2010
-1.20%
Rank in State
Rank in Country
Metro Population
1,577,550
Milwaukee is a city located in Wisconsin. With a 2020 population of 587,721, it is the largest city in Wisconsin and the 30th largest city in the United States. Milwaukee is currently declining at a rate of -0.21% annually and its population has decreased by -1.20% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 594,833 in 2010. Milwaukee reached it's highest population of 741,324 in 1960. Spanning over 97 miles, Milwaukee has a population density of 6,110 people per square mile.
The average household income in Milwaukee is $57,332 with a poverty rate of 25.43%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $858 per month, and the median house value is $122,100. The median age in Milwaukee is 31.5 years, 30.6 years for males, and 32.5 years for females. For every 100 females there are 92.7 males.
Milwaukee is the center of the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of 1.57 million.
Despite robust growth through the 1950s, Milwaukee has experienced negative growth since then, and it's only since the 2010 census that signs of growth have been evident, although growth has been small.
The Milwaukee metropolitan area is home to approximately 1.57 million people in 2016. 30% of the entire state's population lives in the 5-country metro area, with 10% of Wisconsin's population within the Milwaukee city limits.
38.3% of Milwaukee's population reports having African American ancestry, while 21% claim German descent. Other common ancestry groups in the city include Polish (8.8%), Irish (6.5%), Italian (3.6%) and English (2.8%).
The city of Milwaukee seems diverse, but the picture changes when you look at the county as a whole. Milwaukee County's population is 55% white, and the county's African American community is 27%. Only about 8% of the county's African American population lives outside the city limits.
Milwaukee is often seen as a very racially segregated city; some consider it the most segregated city in the country, along with Detroit, Michigan, including a 2002 issue of Jet Magazine.
Milwaukee currently ranks 4th among major cities in the US in terms of children living in poverty at 43%. Milwaukee's unemployment rate is the same as the national average, and its jobs market does show signs of stability and even improvement. The city has also started to attract college graduates, 80% of whom moved to Milwaukee because they got a job. Revitalization efforts in the downtown area have been used to attract residents to the city and encourage growth and development.
Milwaukee is a very slowly growing city, with its modest growth mostly concentrated in the neighborhoods around downtown. From 2011 to 2013, Milwaukee added only 4,000 people. While this doesn't sound like a lot, and it isn't, it does show that Milwaukee's experiencing a turnaround after almost five decades of decline. The growth in the downtown areas has been largely attributed to the construction of condos and apartments, with most new residents being young adults.
It's still too soon to tell if the population growth trend in Milwaukee will continue and the city will be able to post positive growth at the next census in 2020, but signs are good Milwaukee has at least partially overcome the slump of the last fifty years.
The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by several Native American tribes, with French traders and missionaries first passing through the region in the late 17th century. A trading post was established in 1785 by Alexis Laframboise. It's believed the word Milwaukee comes from either a Potawatomi or Ojibwe word meaning "gathering place by the water." For many years, the settlement's name was printed as "Milwaukie," until a newspaper changed it to its current spelling sometime in the 1830s.
In its early history, Milwaukee had a great rivalry with two neighboring towns, Juneautown, across the river, and Walker's Point. By the 1840s, the competition had grown, and there were battles between the town, culminating in the Milwaukee Bridge War of 1845. Afterward, the towns were united and, in 1846, the City of Milwaukee was incorporated.
Milwaukee began to proliferate with an influx of immigrants, especially those from Germany who made their way here from Wisconsin. Milwaukee continued its rapid growth, reaching a height of 741,000 in 1960 before beginning a 5-decade decline.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Milwaukee was:
2019 and 2020 population is estimated by projecting the raw 2018 numbers.
Year | Total Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 1,577,550 | 1,190 | 0.08% |
2020 | 1,576,360 | 1,180 | 0.07% |
2019 | 1,575,180 | 1,180 | 0.07% |
2018 | 1,574,000 | -440 | -0.03% |
2017 | 1,574,440 | -1,560 | -0.10% |
2016 | 1,576,000 | -500 | -0.03% |
2015 | 1,576,500 | 1,500 | 0.10% |
2014 | 1,575,000 | 3,270 | 0.21% |
2013 | 1,571,730 | 4,480 | 0.29% |
2012 | 1,567,250 | 5,950 | 0.38% |
2011 | 1,561,300 | 4,620 | 0.30% |
2010 | 1,556,680 | 0.00% |
Race | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|
White | 263,703 | 44.35% |
Black or African American | 230,371 | 38.75% |
Some Other Race | 47,457 | 7.98% |
Asian | 25,344 | 4.26% |
Two or More Races | 23,838 | 4.01% |
American Indian and Alaska Native | 3,579 | 0.60% |
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 256 | 0.04% |
Type | Count | Average Size | Owned |
---|---|---|---|
All | 230,086 | 2.51 | 41.4 |
Non Family | 105,222 | 1.32 | 31.8 |
Married | 62,926 | 3.41 | 69.4 |
Female | 47,989 | 3.66 | 27.5 |
Male | 13,949 | 3.48 | 35.2 |
3.38
Average Family Size
2.51
Average Household Size
Education Attained | Count | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Less Than 9th Grade | 21,886 | 5.93% |
9th to 12th Grade | 37,352 | 10.11% |
High School Graduate | 111,435 | 30.18% |
Some College | 81,053 | 21.95% |
Associates Degree | 26,704 | 7.23% |
Bachelors Degree | 58,874 | 15.94% |
Graduate Degree | 31,984 | 8.66% |
Name | Total | High School | Bachelors |
---|---|---|---|
White | 158,598 | 148,455 | 63,008 |
Black | 131,332 | 109,050 | 16,556 |
Hispanic | 58,181 | 36,200 | 5,414 |
Other Race | 26,092 | 15,223 | 1,706 |
Asian | 13,895 | 9,562 | 3,768 |
Multiple Races | 7,999 | 7,078 | 2,308 |
Native American | 2,248 | 1,973 | 329 |
Islander | 159 | 124 | 52 |
The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 93.60%.
The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 39.73%.
$33,798
Average Earnings
$37,304
Average Male
$31,265
Average Female
79.72% of Milwaukee residents speak only English, while 20.28% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 14.39% of the population.
Name | Total | In Poverty | Poverty Rate |
---|---|---|---|
Black | 226,413 | 75,111 | 33.17% |
Hispanic | 111,104 | 31,498 | 28.35% |
White | 198,750 | 27,828 | 14.00% |
Other | 47,006 | 14,192 | 30.19% |
Asian | 24,894 | 8,130 | 32.66% |
Multiple | 23,013 | 6,298 | 27.37% |
Native | 3,483 | 974 | 27.96% |
Islander | 253 | 24 | 9.49% |
25.43%
Overall Poverty Rate
23.91%
Male Poverty Rate
26.83%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Milwaukee is Black, with 33.17% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Milwaukee is Islander, with 9.49% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 4.95%. Among those working part-time, it was 29.30%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 37.61%.
30.0%
Overall Marriage Rate
31.8%
Male Marriage Rate
28.3%
Female Marriage Rate
The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.
Name | Veterans | % of Total |
---|---|---|
White | 11,978 | 5.45% |
Black | 6,215 | 3.96% |
Hispanic | 1,391 | 1.95% |
Other | 409 | 1.31% |
2 or More | 388 | 3.43% |
Asian | 172 | 0.97% |
Indian | 167 | 6.02% |
Hawaiian | 18 | 10.34% |
10.79%
Veteran Poverty Rate
28.97%
Veteran Disability Rate
64.7%
Labor Force Participation
60.2%
Employment Rate
6.8%
Unemployment Rate
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
90.02%
Native Born
9.98%
Foreign Born
6.58%
Non Citizen
3.40%
Naturalized
90.02% of Milwaukee residents were born in the United States, with 65.85% having been born in Wisconsin. 6.58% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.
Year | Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 587,721 | -1,218 | -0.21% |
2020 | 588,939 | -1,218 | -0.21% |
2019 | 590,157 | -1,218 | -0.21% |
2018 | 591,375 | -2,350 | -0.40% |
2017 | 593,725 | -3,271 | -0.55% |
2016 | 596,996 | -3,481 | -0.58% |
2015 | 600,477 | -187 | -0.03% |
2014 | 600,664 | 748 | 0.12% |
2013 | 599,916 | 1,347 | 0.23% |
2012 | 598,569 | 1,483 | 0.25% |
2011 | 597,086 | 2,221 | 0.37% |
2010 | 594,865 | -2,109 | -0.04% |
2000 | 596,974 | -31,114 | -0.51% |
1990 | 628,088 | -8,209 | -0.13% |
1980 | 636,297 | -81,075 | -1.19% |
1970 | 717,372 | -23,952 | -0.33% |
1960 | 741,324 | 103,932 | 1.52% |
1950 | 637,392 | 49,920 | 0.82% |
1940 | 587,472 | 9,223 | 0.16% |
1930 | 578,249 | 121,102 | 2.38% |
1920 | 457,147 | 83,290 | 2.03% |
1910 | 373,857 | 88,542 | 2.74% |
1900 | 285,315 | 80,847 | 3.39% |
1890 | 204,468 | 88,881 | 5.87% |
1880 | 115,587 | 44,147 | 4.93% |
1870 | 71,440 | 26,194 | 4.67% |
1860 | 45,246 | 25,185 | 8.47% |
1850 | 20,061 | 18,361 | 27.99% |
1840 | 1,700 | 0.00% |