Following a national trend, Wisconsin is experiencing a structural labor shortage: there are not enough qualified workers to fill available jobs. From January 2021 through February 2025, the state averaged 190,180 job openings per month, while only 97,081 individuals were unemployed resulting in an average monthly shortfall of 93,099 workers. This imbalance, combined with low unemployment and declining labor force participation, means that while job seekers may have an easier time finding work, there are simply not enough people actively seeking employment to meet demand. Contributing factors include an aging population, childcare and eldercare responsibilities (which disproportionately impact women), and a mismatch between the skills of available workers and the requirements of open positions.

Housing affordability is a growing concern across Wisconsin and the U.S. at large. Housing costs continue to rise while affordable options are getting harder to find and while job earnings have grown, earnings have failed to keep pace with housing costs. The result is that many households are struggling to keep up with the increasing cost of housing, leading to housing financial stress and increasing instability. While there is no widely accepted measure of housing financial stress, a common method uses a threshold of spending more than 30% of their income on housing. The number of households in the United States and Wisconsin spending over 30% of their income on housing is steadily increasing with no signs of slowing down. 

In this WIndicator we focus on a relatively simple measure of prosperity to gain insight on the broader question of livability and contribute to ongoing local discussions. We explored patterns of place prosperity across four distinct dimensions: poverty, unemployment, housing, and education. Our analysis includes all U.S. counties and extends over time across three decades.