ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Kenosha County, Wisconsin

FIPS 55059 · Kenosha, WI · Population 168,438
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$81,239
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.4%
Unemployment
4% national
$10.4B
GDP
31.2%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$81,239
Per Capita
$42,757
Mean Household
$103,301
Poverty Rate
10.5%
Median Income Comparison
Kenosha County$81,239
Wisconsin$77,485
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 15.8% (26,664 residents) 55-64: 14.4% (24,210 residents) 35-54: 25.4% (42,740 residents) 18-34: 22.7% (38,230 residents) Under 18: 21.7% (36,594 residents) 39 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.7%
18-34 · 22.7%
35-54 · 25.4%
55-64 · 14.4%
65+ · 15.8%
Race & Ethnicity
White75.2%
Black or African American6.1%
Asian1.8%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)15.2%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +2.4 pts
31.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 4.5 pts
10.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 3.3 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
168,438
Population
91,269
Labor Force
Employed
87,059
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.4% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
10.7%
Key Takeaways
  • Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, and education.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$10.4B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Transportation and Warehousing
10,203 17.4%
$51,282
2Health Care and Social Assistance
10,042 17.1%
$60,818
3Manufacturing
9,918 16.9%
$77,420
4Retail Trade
8,736 14.9%
$38,327
5Accommodation and Food Services
6,522 11.1%
$22,023
6Administrative and Support and Waste Management
5,115 8.7%
$40,934
7Management of Companies and Enterprises
2,845 4.8%
$171,945
8Construction
2,266 3.9%
$72,044
9Other Services (except Public Administration)
1,648 2.8%
$39,094
10Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,393 2.4%
$81,086
Track industry shifts with AI

ExecutivePulse monitors WARN notices, BLS changes, and SEC filings for your top employers.

Learn More
Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Transportation and Warehousing employs 10,203 workers (17.4% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $51,282.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $10.4B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Management of Companies and Enterprises averages $171,945 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $22,023, a 7.8x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?

EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.

Get Deeper Trends

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Warehousing and Storage
9.01x
8,358
Paper Manufacturing
4.41x
756
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
3.59x
1,227
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
3.52x
742
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
3.26x
3,483
Food Manufacturing
2.85x
2,468
Management of Companies and Enterprises
2.24x
2,845
Chemical Manufacturing
2.08x
906
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
2.02x
1,406
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
2.01x
1,119

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Transportation & Warehousing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
8,358
Cluster Employment
9.01x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Warehousing and Storage
9.01x 8,358
Paper Manufacturing
4.41x 756
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
3.59x 1,227
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
3.52x 742
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
3.26x 3,483
Food Manufacturing
2.85x 2,468
Management of Companies and Enterprises
2.24x 2,845
Chemical Manufacturing
2.08x 906
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
2.02x 1,406
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
2.01x 1,119

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.15x
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
83 employed
0.16x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
68 employed
0.19x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
235 employed
0.26x
Accommodation
242 employed
0.27x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,393 employed
0.30x
Printing and Related Support Activities
50 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Warehousing and Storage concentrates at 9.01x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
  • Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Kenosha County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$265,500
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,219
Rent/Mo
66.7%
Owner-Occ
6.5%
Vacancy
3.3x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,085/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,092/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,402/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,899/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,174/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,031/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.3x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
  • Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,031/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
105,180
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
10.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
83.7%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 69.2% of working-age population (18-64) 69% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
31.2%
HS Diploma+
92%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
36,732/yr
University of Wisconsin-Madison 17,447/yr
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 5,987/yr
Marquette University 3,757/yr
Madison Area Technical College 3,280/yr
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 3,231/yr
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3,030/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
23%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
38.8%
Service
15.7%
Sales & Office
19.8%
Construction / Maint.
7.8%
Production / Transport
17.9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 87,059 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Succession risk is real: 23% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 27,191 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Kenosha County shows strong potential for warehousing and storage attraction, with a 9.01x concentration and 8,358 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 23% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across warehousing and storage, paper manufacturing, and plastics and rubber products manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

Take it further

AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.

Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.

Schedule a Demo
Available as premium offerings.

Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Kenosha County, Wisconsin, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Kenosha County, Wisconsin?

168,438 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Kenosha County, Wisconsin?

$81,239 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Kenosha County, Wisconsin?

3.4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Kenosha County, Wisconsin?

$10.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).