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Manufacturing Compass

Wisconsin manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Wisconsin manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

8,924

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
2.2%

Employment

465,626

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
3.7%

Total wages

$33.4 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
3.1%

Average weekly wage

$1,381

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.9%

Average annual pay

$71,806

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−16.0%

Location quotient

1.92

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Wisconsin is 1.92 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
    81,148
    Establishments
    1,090
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,873
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.0%
    Location quotient
    2.42
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    73,350
    Establishments
    1,859
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,694
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.8%
    Location quotient
    2.69
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    65,242
    Establishments
    1,096
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,144
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.7%
    Location quotient
    3.10
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    32,666
    Establishments
    453
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,116
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.1%
    Location quotient
    2.39
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    26,540
    Establishments
    216
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,571
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.6%
    Location quotient
    3.94
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    25,341
    Establishments
    253
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,423
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.3%
    Location quotient
    0.75
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    22,947
    Establishments
    189
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,933
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.1%
    Location quotient
    2.88
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    22,584
    Establishments
    653
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,011
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.7%
    Location quotient
    3.34
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    20,337
    Establishments
    359
    Avg. annual pay
    $97,277
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.7%
    Location quotient
    1.20
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    16,632
    Establishments
    476
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,020
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.8%
    Location quotient
    2.12
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    16,342
    Establishments
    282
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,879
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −42.7%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    15,033
    Establishments
    559
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,533
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.8%
    Location quotient
    1.29
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    13,434
    Establishments
    142
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,313
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.7%
    Location quotient
    1.92
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,645
    Establishments
    408
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,515
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.4%
    Location quotient
    1.94
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,983
    Establishments
    401
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,194
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.7%
    Location quotient
    1.26
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,716
    Establishments
    258
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,994
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.0%
    Location quotient
    1.06
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    1,384
    Establishments
    30
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,884
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.7%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    1,225
    Establishments
    94
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,129
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.7%
    Location quotient
    0.66
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,012
    Establishments
    39
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,411
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.4%
    Location quotient
    2.11
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    572
    Establishments
    44
    Avg. annual pay
    $39,997
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −31.0%
    Location quotient
    0.37
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    494
    Establishments
    21
    Avg. annual pay
    $123,784
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.4%
    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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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