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Manufacturing Compass

Wisconsin manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Wisconsin manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Wisconsin combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

8,964

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
2.4%

Employment

476,773

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
3.7%

Total wages

$31.7 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
3.1%

Average weekly wage

$1,279

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
−16.4%

Average annual pay

$66,491

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
−16.3%

Location quotient

1.95

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Wisconsin is 1.95 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    78,266
    Establishments
    1,070
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,651
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.1%
    Location quotient
    2.41
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    74,975
    Establishments
    1,863
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,613
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.0%
    Location quotient
    2.74
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    67,205
    Establishments
    1,110
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,844
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.5%
    Location quotient
    3.17
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    34,238
    Establishments
    463
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,231
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.4%
    Location quotient
    2.39
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    26,963
    Establishments
    226
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,540
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.8%
    Location quotient
    3.88
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    25,226
    Establishments
    255
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,509
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.9%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    25,167
    Establishments
    194
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,195
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.0%
    Location quotient
    3.24
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    24,678
    Establishments
    650
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,014
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.0%
    Location quotient
    3.41
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    21,011
    Establishments
    365
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,925
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.9%
    Location quotient
    1.22
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    17,407
    Establishments
    310
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,952
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −44.1%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    17,341
    Establishments
    487
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,514
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.3%
    Location quotient
    2.12
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    15,746
    Establishments
    554
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,763
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.5%
    Location quotient
    1.31
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    13,862
    Establishments
    139
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,104
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.0%
    Location quotient
    1.98
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,511
    Establishments
    416
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,598
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.3%
    Location quotient
    1.87
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    10,157
    Establishments
    393
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,020
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.5%
    Location quotient
    1.28
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,123
    Establishments
    236
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,298
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.4%
    Location quotient
    0.99
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    1,426
    Establishments
    107
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,864
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.0%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    1,340
    Establishments
    29
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,616
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.8%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,066
    Establishments
    35
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,995
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.2%
    Location quotient
    2.09
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    577
    Establishments
    42
    Avg. annual pay
    $36,643
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −31.5%
    Location quotient
    0.33
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    486
    Establishments
    21
    Avg. annual pay
    $109,366
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.5%
    Location quotient
    0.24

03By year

Wisconsin manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Wisconsin by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022476,773$66,491−16.3%
2023474,437$69,022−16.4%
2024465,626$71,806−16.0%
2025458,245$75,120−16.0%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology