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Manufacturing Compass

Wisconsin manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Wisconsin manufacturing in 2025

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

Establishments

8,690

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
399,936
Share of U.S.Calc
2.2%

Employment

458,245

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,579,906
Share of U.S.Calc
3.6%

Total wages

$34.4 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,445

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,721
vs. U.S.Calc
−16.0%

Average annual pay

$75,120

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$89,471
vs. U.S.Calc
−16.0%

Location quotient

1.93

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Wisconsin is 1.93 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
    81,993
    Establishments
    1,086
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,836
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.4%
    Location quotient
    2.44
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    71,664
    Establishments
    1,838
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,594
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.3%
    Location quotient
    2.66
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    63,538
    Establishments
    1,054
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,100
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.3%
    Location quotient
    3.09
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    32,316
    Establishments
    449
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,664
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.2%
    Location quotient
    2.44
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    26,686
    Establishments
    217
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,761
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.8%
    Location quotient
    4.01
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    23,904
    Establishments
    244
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,331
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.0%
    Location quotient
    0.73
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    22,398
    Establishments
    178
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,656
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.5%
    Location quotient
    2.74
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    21,922
    Establishments
    635
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,653
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.4%
    Location quotient
    3.37
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    20,602
    Establishments
    336
    Avg. annual pay
    $103,916
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.8%
    Location quotient
    1.22
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    15,977
    Establishments
    460
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,074
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.2%
    Location quotient
    2.10
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    15,958
    Establishments
    263
    Avg. annual pay
    $91,090
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −44.5%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    14,694
    Establishments
    538
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,686
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.9%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    12,762
    Establishments
    144
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,593
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.9%
    Location quotient
    1.86
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,496
    Establishments
    389
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,260
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.0%
    Location quotient
    1.98
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,928
    Establishments
    396
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,761
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.8%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,706
    Establishments
    248
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,157
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.6%
    Location quotient
    1.08
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    1,491
    Establishments
    30
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,423
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.3%
    Location quotient
    0.97
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    1,150
    Establishments
    91
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,768
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.2%
    Location quotient
    0.65
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    992
    Establishments
    34
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,747
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.7%
    Location quotient
    2.21
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    572
    Establishments
    40
    Avg. annual pay
    $41,743
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.1%
    Location quotient
    0.38
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    497
    Establishments
    19
    Avg. annual pay
    $119,548
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.8%
    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/2025/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2025 (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