Clark, Vernon and Eau Claire counties lead in home births

Florence and Menominee, with no hospitals, had zero births in 2023

There were 59,466 births in Wisconsin in 2023, the most recent year for which the Wisconsin Department of Health Services has released figures.

The counties where the greatest number of births actually took place were Milwaukee County, with 13,141 births, Dane County, with 6,949 births, and Brown County, with 4,401.

The figures record the location of each birth, not where a newborn’s mother resides. A mother who crosses a county line to reach a hospital, for example, would be recorded in the county where the hospital is, and not in her home county. A mother who crossed state lines to give birth would not be included here at all.

The DHS also keeps track of whether births take place at a hospital or birthing facility, or at home.

Clark County had the most home births in 2024, with 234 recorded. Vernon County had the second most at 211, and Eau Claire County had the third most at 159.

There were 24 counties where no births occurred at a facility or hospital, the most populous of which being Calumet, Dunn and Douglas counties. Those counties did record 10, 11 and 4 home births, respectively.

In two counties, Florence and Menominee, no births were recorded.

The underlying numbers