By the numbers
The number of babies born in Wisconsin has declined to its lowest level since 1941, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Figures provided by David Egan-Robertson at the University of Wisconsin Applied Population Lab show that a total of 59,675 babies were born in Wisconsin in 2024, the most recent year for which data are available. The figures are drawn from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and its predecessor agencies.
That total represents a slight decline of 64 births from the year prior, and a decrease of 13,082, or 18 percent, from the recent peak of 72,757 births in 2007.
In 1904, the earliest year in the dataset, Wisconsin recorded 38,832 births. Births rose steadily in the early 20th century, reaching a peak of 62,163 in 1921. The trend reversed, bottoming out at 50,450 babies born in 1933 in the middle of the Great Depression. From that point, the number of children born in the state climbed steadily.
The largest single-year increase occurred between 1945 and 1946, when births jumped from 60,839 to 74,144. Births peaked in 1960, at the height of the Baby Boom, with 99,493 births. It subsequently crashed down to 65,042 in 1976. After a partial recovery to 74,763 births in 1980, the number of births in Wisconsin has generally declined since.
The earlier peaks occurred in a smaller Wisconsin. In 1920, while the number of births was about the same as it was in 2024, the state’s population was 2.6 million, less than half the current estimate of 6 million. In 1960, Wisconsin’s population was 4 million.
The underlying numbers
| Year | Live Births in Wisconsin |
| 1904 | 38,832 |
| 1905 | 42,721 |
| 1906 | 44,759 |
| 1907 | 50,926 |
| 1908 | 52,994 |
| 1909 | 51,212 |
| 1910 | 52,270 |
| 1911 | 52,649 |
| 1912 | 54,493 |
| 1913 | 55,240 |
| 1914 | 58,163 |
| 1915 | 58,014 |
| 1916 | 59,459 |
| 1917 | 59,012 |
| 1918 | 60,649 |
| 1919 | 55,009 |
| 1920 | 59,269 |
| 1921 | 62,163 |
| 1922 | 58,635 |
| 1923 | 59,401 |
| 1924 | 59,963 |
| 1925 | 58,024 |
| 1926 | 57,373 |
| 1927 | 57,320 |
| 1928 | 57,913 |
| 1929 | 55,619 |
| 1930 | 56,643 |
| 1931 | 54,421 |
| 1932 | 53,326 |
| 1933 | 50,450 |
| 1934 | 51,461 |
| 1935 | 52,402 |
| 1936 | 52,429 |
| 1937 | 53,504 |
| 1938 | 54,746 |
| 1939 | 54,187 |
| 1940 | 54,712 |
| 1941 | 56,572 |
| 1942 | 63,682 |
| 1943 | 64,250 |
| 1944 | 61,025 |
| 1945 | 60,839 |
| 1946 | 74,144 |
| 1947 | 83,907 |
| 1948 | 81,300 |
| 1949 | 82,736 |
| 1950 | 82,034 |
| 1951 | 87,819 |
| 1952 | 88,941 |
| 1953 | 88,408 |
| 1954 | 91,570 |
| 1955 | 92,333 |
| 1956 | 93,496 |
| 1957 | 96,398 |
| 1958 | 95,950 |
| 1959 | 98,518 |
| 1960 | 99,493 |
| 1961 | 98,435 |
| 1962 | 94,497 |
| 1963 | 91,605 |
| 1964 | 88,910 |
| 1965 | 82,919 |
| 1966 | 80,412 |
| 1967 | 75,797 |
| 1968 | 74,257 |
| 1969 | 74,324 |
| 1970 | 77,455 |
| 1971 | 71,976 |
| 1972 | 64,719 |
| 1973 | 62,796 |
| 1974 | 65,150 |
| 1975 | 65,145 |
| 1976 | 65,042 |
| 1977 | 68,548 |
| 1978 | 68,573 |
| 1979 | 73,209 |
| 1980 | 74,763 |
| 1981 | 74,309 |
| 1982 | 74,327 |
| 1983 | 72,499 |
| 1984 | 73,050 |
| 1985 | 73,647 |
| 1986 | 72,229 |
| 1987 | 70,907 |
| 1988 | 70,711 |
| 1989 | 71,890 |
| 1990 | 72,662 |
| 1991 | 72,039 |
| 1992 | 70,662 |
| 1993 | 69,760 |
| 1994 | 68,267 |
| 1995 | 67,493 |
| 1996 | 67,076 |
| 1997 | 66,490 |
| 1998 | 67,379 |
| 1999 | 68,181 |
| 2000 | 69,289 |
| 2001 | 69,012 |
| 2002 | 68,510 |
| 2003 | 69,999 |
| 2004 | 70,130 |
| 2005 | 70,934 |
| 2006 | 72,302 |
| 2007 | 72,757 |
| 2008 | 72,002 |
| 2009 | 70,824 |
| 2010 | 68,367 |
| 2011 | 67,741 |
| 2012 | 67,229 |
| 2013 | 66,566 |
| 2014 | 67,119 |
| 2015 | 67,004 |
| 2016 | 66,593 |
| 2017 | 64,993 |
| 2018 | 64,143 |
| 2019 | 63,280 |
| 2020 | 60,615 |
| 2021 | 61,814 |
| 2022 | 60,032 |
| 2023 | 59,739 |
| 2024 | 59,675 |
