7 Ways Wisconsin Businesses Excelled in 2022

Bigger isn’t always better, even in business. Wisconsin is one of the best states in America to start, own, or invest in business of any size.

2022 was a “bounce back year” for both businesses and consumers. In the Badger State, that went better than many anticipated.

Here are a few numbers to know:

#1
Appleton was named #1 Best Small City for Business by Chamber of Commerce. And Madison was #1 among the Best Untapped Cities for Startups by Fundera as well as the #1 City Where Women Are Finding Great Success. According to SmartAsset, women here have an unemployment rate of just 1.60%!

#2
Madison is the second best Metro for Attraction Millennial Talent, according to Business Facilities‘ most recent report, which applauded the Capitol City for “bringing fresh minds to the state so they can bring fresh solutions to the world.”

#4
Madison also ranked as the city with the fourth Most Educated Workforce by WalletHub. 30% of women specifically have a Bachelor’s degree. And Milwaukee was named the fourth Best City for Young Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur.

8 
Wisconsin is home for eight Fortune 500 companies: American Family Insurance, Fiserv, Kohl’s, ManpowerGroup, Northwestern Mutual, OshKosh B’gosh, Rockwell Automation, and WEC Energy Group.

8th
Wisconsin ranked 8th in Job Market Strength according to Wallethub, which called it “ripe with opportunities for passionate people to make an impact.”

66.5%
Wisconsin labor force participation rate (the number of people age 16+ who are currently working or looking for jobs) outpaced the rest of the country, with a rate 4% higher than the national average.

Top 10
Wisconsin is among the top 10 manufacturing states, with 9,731 manufacturers employing 590,394 people. Manufacturing accounts for 20% of Wisconsin’s GDP.