By the numbers
The number of licensed drivers in Wisconsin has risen from 1.76 million in 1949 to 4.4 million in 2023, the most recent year in the U.S. Department of Transportation Statistics’ figures.
The increase, 151 percent, outstrips the increase in Wisconsin’s population, 73 percent, over the period.
As a result, the percentage of Wisconsin’s population that is licensed to drive has increased sharply — from 47 percent in 1960 to an all-time high of 74.1 percent in 2023.
The rate at which this percentage rose was higher between 1961, when the oldest of those born during the Baby Boom turned 16, and 1985, when the youngest Baby Boomers turned 21. The rate has still risen, if more slowly, since then, with the exception of a sharp two-year dip from 2000 to 2002.
