Marketplace Today Blog

Wisconsin has 3,120 units of government, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which compares the number of municipalities, school districts, special districts, and counties in Wisconsin and other states.

Wisconsin has 72 counties; 190 cities, 402 villages and 1,259 towns; 427 school districts, most of which are K–12 districts, with about 10 percent either K–8 or union high school districts; 16 technical college districts; and 756 special districts, including fire, lake and sanitary districts, according to the WTA.

Among the 50 states, Wisconsin ranked 20th in population and 25th in land area, yet 11th in number of government units in 2007. The 10 states with more government units were usually more populous and often larger in land area. California, Texas, and New York were larger on both scores, but relative to population all three ranked in the bottom third of states in number of government units.

Depending on the type of government, Wisconsin’s numbers vary. Wisconsin has more towns (1,259) than all but six states. When cities and villages were added, Wisconsin had 1,851 municipalities, sixth highest among states.

Comparing other government units, the ratio of Wisconsin’s school districts (K–12 and technical college combined) was 7.9 for every 100,000 residents, 14th highest and well above the U.S. average of 4.8. Wisconsin’s special districts (756) and counties (72) placed it in the middle of the pack among states (22nd and 24th, respectively, relative to population.)

After World War II, Wisconsin reduced its number of government units from 8,500 in 1942 to 2,449 in 1972, due mainly to school district consolidation. Since then, the number of total government units has increased from 2,449 to 3,120 in 2007. Creation of special districts was the main reason.