ThingsToDo.com Logo Things to do in Wisconsin
 

Facts about Wisconsin

History | Symbols | Interesting Facts | Famous People

Demographics
Statehood:  May 29, 1848, the 30th state

Capital:  Madison

Total Area:  22nd among states, 169,642 sq km (65,499 sq mi)

Water Area:  28,972 sq km (11,186 sq mi)

Highest Point:  Timms Hill, 595 m (1,951 ft)

Total Population:   20th among states
2010
census -  5,686,986

Population Density in 2010:  105 people per sq km mi

Distribution in 2000: 67.3% Urban, 32.7% Rural

Economy:  
Gross State Product - $251.4 billion (2010)
Personal income per Capita - $36,822 (2009)

Largest cities in 2010: 
Milwaukee:  594,833
Madison:  233,209
Green Bay:  10
4,057

  • One of the most popular places to visit in the state is Wisconsin Dells, where the Wisconsin River passes through a winding gorge about 13 km (about 8 mi) long.
     

  • Wisconsin is among the nation's leaders in production of dairy products and is sometimes called America's Dairyland.
     

  • One of the nation's worst natural disasters took place in Peshtigo in 1871, when a forest fire killed more than 1000 people and damaged $5 million worth of property.

  • Wisconsin ranks number one in # of milk cows (1,500,000) and produces over 15% of the entire country's milk.

  • Wisconsin has over 14,000 lakes, with Lake Winnebago the largest. It also has 7,446 streams and rivers, which if you stuck them end to end they'd stretch nearly 27,000 miles--enough to circle the whole planet.

  • Milwaukee's Summerfest is the nation's largest music festival, with over 2,500 performers.

  • Wisconsin is known as the Badger State after the living habits of early miners in the region who either lived in mine shafts or dug their homes out of the sides of hills--just like Badgers do.

  • The House on the Rock was designed and built in the early 1940s. It is considered an architectural marvel and is perched on a 60-foot chimney of rock. The 14-room house is now a complex of rooms, streets, buildings, and gardens covering over 200 acres. The Infinity Room contains 3,264 windows.

  • In 1882 the first hydroelectric plant in the United States was built at Fox River.

  • Milwaukee is home of Harley Davidson Motorcycles.

  • The first Ringling Brothers Circus was staged in Baraboo in 1884.