Data / Rankings / Unemployment rate / Cities in Wisconsin

Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate

Milwaukee, WI had the highest unemployment rate of 35 cities in September 2025, at 3.9%. Fitchburg, WI had the lowest, at 2.2%. The median was 2.6% and the figure for Wisconsin was 3.1%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest3.9Milwaukee, WI
Lowest2.2Fitchburg, WI
Median2.635 cities
Wisconsin3.1History

All cities, September 2025

Milwaukee, WI: 3.9 %Milwaukee, WI3.9Racine, WI: 3.8 %Racine, WI3.8Beloit, WI: 3.2 %Beloit, WI3.2West Allis, WI: 3.2 %West Allis, WI3.2Janesville, WI: 3 %Janesville, WI3Kenosha, WI: 3 %Kenosha, WI3La Crosse, WI: 2.9 %La Crosse, WI2.9Brookfield, WI: 2.8 %Brookfield, WI2.8Franklin, WI: 2.8 %Franklin, WI2.8Mequon, WI: 2.8 %Mequon, WI2.8Superior, WI: 2.8 %Superior, WI2.8Caledonia, WI: 2.7 %Caledonia, WI2.7De Pere, WI: 2.7 %De Pere, WI2.7Fond du Lac, WI: 2.7 %Fond du Lac, WI2.7Oshkosh, WI: 2.7 %Oshkosh, WI2.7Sheboygan, WI: 2.7 %Sheboygan, WI2.7Stevens Point, WI: 2.7 %Stevens Point, WI2.7Eau Claire, WI: 2.6 %Eau Claire, WI2.6Green Bay, WI: 2.6 %Green Bay, WI2.6Greenfield, WI: 2.6 %Greenfield, WI2.6Manitowoc, WI: 2.6 %Manitowoc, WI2.6Menomonee Falls, WI: 2.6 %Menomonee Falls, WI2.6Wausau, WI: 2.6 %Wausau, WI2.6Wauwatosa, WI: 2.6 %Wauwatosa, WI2.6Appleton, WI: 2.5 %Appleton, WI2.5Mount Pleasant, WI: 2.5 %Mount Pleasant, WI2.5Neenah, WI: 2.5 %Neenah, WI2.5Waukesha, WI: 2.5 %Waukesha, WI2.5New Berlin, WI: 2.4 %New Berlin, WI2.4Oak Creek, WI: 2.4 %Oak Creek, WI2.4West Bend, WI: 2.4 %West Bend, WI2.4Madison, WI: 2.3 %Madison, WI2.3Muskego, WI: 2.3 %Muskego, WI2.3Sun Prairie, WI: 2.3 %Sun Prairie, WI2.3Fitchburg, WI: 2.2 %Fitchburg, WI2.2Milwaukee, WI: 3.9 %Milwaukee, WI3.9Racine, WI: 3.8 %Racine, WI3.8Beloit, WI: 3.2 %Beloit, WI3.2West Allis, WI: 3.2 %West Allis, WI3.2Janesville, WI: 3 %Janesville, WI3Kenosha, WI: 3 %Kenosha, WI3La Crosse, WI: 2.9 %La Crosse, WI2.9Brookfield, WI: 2.8 %Brookfield, WI2.8Franklin, WI: 2.8 %Franklin, WI2.8Mequon, WI: 2.8 %Mequon, WI2.8Superior, WI: 2.8 %Superior, WI2.8Caledonia, WI: 2.7 %Caledonia, WI2.7De Pere, WI: 2.7 %De Pere, WI2.7Fond du Lac, WI: 2.7 %Fond du Lac, WI2.7Oshkosh, WI: 2.7 %Oshkosh, WI2.7Sheboygan, WI: 2.7 %Sheboygan, WI2.7Stevens Point, WI: 2.7 %Stevens Point, WI2.7Eau Claire, WI: 2.6 %Eau Claire, WI2.6Green Bay, WI: 2.6 %Green Bay, WI2.6Greenfield, WI: 2.6 %Greenfield, WI2.6Manitowoc, WI: 2.6 %Manitowoc, WI2.6Menomonee Falls, WI: 2.6 %Menomonee Falls, WI2.6Wausau, WI: 2.6 %Wausau, WI2.6Wauwatosa, WI: 2.6 %Wauwatosa, WI2.6Appleton, WI: 2.5 %Appleton, WI2.5Mount Pleasant, WI: 2.5 %Mount Pleasant, WI2.5Neenah, WI: 2.5 %Neenah, WI2.5Waukesha, WI: 2.5 %Waukesha, WI2.5New Berlin, WI: 2.4 %New Berlin, WI2.4Oak Creek, WI: 2.4 %Oak Creek, WI2.4West Bend, WI: 2.4 %West Bend, WI2.4Madison, WI: 2.3 %Madison, WI2.3Muskego, WI: 2.3 %Muskego, WI2.3Sun Prairie, WI: 2.3 %Sun Prairie, WI2.3Fitchburg, WI: 2.2 %Fitchburg, WI2.2
%. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCitiesSeptember 2025 (%)Change on September 2024
1Milwaukee, WI3.9+0.2 pts
2Racine, WI3.8+0.1 pts
3Beloit, WI3.2-0.1 pts
3West Allis, WI3.2+0.3 pts
5Janesville, WI3+0.3 pts
5Kenosha, WI3+0.1 pts
7La Crosse, WI2.9+0.3 pts
8Brookfield, WI2.8+0.3 pts
8Franklin, WI2.8+0.1 pts
8Mequon, WI2.8+0.1 pts
8Superior, WI2.8+0.2 pts
12Caledonia, WI2.7-0.1 pts
12De Pere, WI2.7+0.5 pts
12Fond du Lac, WI2.7-0.4 pts
12Oshkosh, WI2.70 pts
12Sheboygan, WI2.7+0.3 pts
12Stevens Point, WI2.7+0.2 pts
18Eau Claire, WI2.6+0.2 pts
18Green Bay, WI2.6+0.1 pts
18Greenfield, WI2.60 pts
18Manitowoc, WI2.60 pts
18Menomonee Falls, WI2.6+0.2 pts
18Wausau, WI2.6+0.2 pts
18Wauwatosa, WI2.6+0.1 pts
25Appleton, WI2.50 pts
25Mount Pleasant, WI2.5-0.2 pts
25Neenah, WI2.5+0.3 pts
25Waukesha, WI2.5+0.2 pts
29New Berlin, WI2.4-0.1 pts
29Oak Creek, WI2.4+0.2 pts
29West Bend, WI2.4+0.1 pts
32Madison, WI2.30 pts
32Muskego, WI2.30 pts
32Sun Prairie, WI2.3+0.1 pts
35Fitchburg, WI2.2+0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over.
  • EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74.
  • United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states, counties and cities.
  • United Kingdom regions: Labour Force Survey, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted.
  • Canada: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the country and the provinces.
  • Australia: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the nation and the six states; the ABS publishes no seasonally adjusted series for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
  • New Zealand: Household Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted for the country and not seasonally adjusted for regional council areas.
  • Norway: Statistics Norway Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted monthly figures.
  • Sweden: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted and smoothed (the series Statistics Sweden gives in its monthly release), national.
  • Switzerland: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS), ILO definition, permanent resident population aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, national.
  • For other countries, the source may be OECD survey-based rates, annual survey-based rates compiled by the ILO in ILOSTAT, or annual ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank.
  • ILO modelled estimates cover ages 15 and over.
  • The World series uses those ILO modelled estimates.

Survey-based for national and Eurostat series. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states, US counties, US cities (those of 25,000 or more and smaller New England cities), United Kingdom regions, Canadian provinces, Australia and its six states, New Zealand with 10 of its regions, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (national), not Spanish municipalities. For Spanish municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03) (Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate, 2025-09) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate, 2025-09. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/wisconsin-cities?period=2025-09. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate, 2025-09. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/wisconsin-cities?period=2025-09.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate, 2025-09 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/wisconsin-cities?period=2025-09 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_wisconsin_by_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate, 2025-09}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/wisconsin-cities?period=2025-09. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate, 2025-09
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/wisconsin-cities?period=2025-09
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/wisconsin-cities?period=2025-09.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Wisconsin by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployment rate?

Milwaukee, WI, with 3.9% in September 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployment rate?

Fitchburg, WI, with 2.2% in September 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Cities in Wisconsin: more rankings