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Western Wisconsin booming
By the Associated Press
Slower growth in population of Rock County
In only a few years, an area of far western Wisconsin has been transformed from a string of sleepy bedroom communities into the fastest growing area of the state, as thousands of commuters creep across the Minnesota border, U.S. Census figures released Thursday show.
New residents have scooped up land and housing and forced rapid changes in St. Croix County, which recorded a 16.8 percent population increase from 2000 to 2004, according to the figures.
"All of the towns along the I-94 corridor here have seen an explosion in growth," said real estate agent Keith French, of Baldwin. "Most of the towns were generally smaller towns in the 1,000-2,000 population, and they're seeing substantial growth with a lot of new developments, maybe even doubling."
French's brother, Troy French, owns French Homes, a development company geared toward first-time home buyers that has also enjoyed rapid expansion in the last five years.
"The farmers just don't have a chance anymore, if they want to make any money off their farms, it's best to turn them into possible developments," Keith French said.
The suburban sprawl brought more than 10,500 people to the county in the four-year period, while Wisconsin saw just a 2.5 percent increase as a whole.
In Hudson, St. Croix County's largest city, around 60 percent of residents commute to the Twin Cities, which has caused transportation snafus and a need for new infrastructure such as schools, water and sewer systems, said Dennis Darnold, Hudson's community development director.
When Darnold moved to the city in 1986, most people drove to Minneapolis-St. Paul to buy clothes. Now, they can shop at home in the city of 10,100.
"Our downtown business area has certainly improved itself. We have an active downtown area, which a lot of communities do not have," Darnold said.
The city is constantly updating its strategic plan and is now recruiting light industrial businesses, he said.
The next-fastest growing area of the state was Calumet County in the Fox Valley area of east central Wisconsin. It gained more than 3,000 people from 2000-2004, or 7.4 percent.
Some urban areas also saw growth. Dane County had an influx of more than 25,000 people, or nearly 6 percent, boosting its population over the 450,000 mark.
Many other areas had only moderate growth of 1 percent or 2 percent, or population losses along the same lines.
Rock County, for example, increased to 156,512 from 152,549 in the 2000 census, for growth of 3,963 people or 2.6 percent.
Milwaukee County, which has been losing people to outlying suburban areas for decades, had a net loss of 11,573 people, or 1.2 percent, over the four years, but that slowed to just 0.4 percent in the final year of data as the city of Milwaukee drew younger professionals to the area. Neighboring Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties all saw higher growth during the same time, however.
Iron County in far northern Wisconsin had the largest population loss on a percentage basis at 2.6 percent, but that was just 178 people from its population of less than 7,000.
The state's overall population rose by 2.5 percent, or 134,634, to 5.5 million.
In only a few years, an area of far western Wisconsin has been transformed from a string of sleepy bedroom communities into the fastest growing area of the state, as thousands of commuters creep across the Minnesota border, U.S. Census figures released Thursday show.
New residents have scooped up land and housing and forced rapid changes in St. Croix County, which recorded a 16.8 percent population increase from 2000 to 2004, according to the figures.
"All of the towns along the I-94 corridor here have seen an explosion in growth," said real estate agent Keith French, of Baldwin. "Most of the towns were generally smaller towns in the 1,000-2,000 population, and they're seeing substantial growth with a lot of new developments, maybe even doubling."
French's brother, Troy French, owns French Homes, a development company geared toward first-time home buyers that has also enjoyed rapid expansion in the last five years.
"The farmers just don't have a chance anymore, if they want to make any money off their farms, it's best to turn them into possible developments," Keith French said.
The suburban sprawl brought more than 10,500 people to the county in the four-year period, while Wisconsin saw just a 2.5 percent increase as a whole.
In Hudson, St. Croix County's largest city, around 60 percent of residents commute to the Twin Cities, which has caused transportation snafus and a need for new infrastructure such as schools, water and sewer systems, said Dennis Darnold, Hudson's community development director.
When Darnold moved to the city in 1986, most people drove to Minneapolis-St. Paul to buy clothes. Now, they can shop at home in the city of 10,100.
"Our downtown business area has certainly improved itself. We have an active downtown area, which a lot of communities do not have," Darnold said.
The city is constantly updating its strategic plan and is now recruiting light industrial businesses, he said.
The next-fastest growing area of the state was Calumet County in the Fox Valley area of east central Wisconsin. It gained more than 3,000 people from 2000-2004, or 7.4 percent.
Some urban areas also saw growth. Dane County had an influx of more than 25,000 people, or nearly 6 percent, boosting its population over the 450,000 mark.
Many other areas had only moderate growth of 1 percent or 2 percent, or population losses along the same lines.
Rock County, for example, increased to 156,512 from 152,549 in the 2000 census, for growth of 3,963 people or 2.6 percent.
Milwaukee County, which has been losing people to outlying suburban areas for decades, had a net loss of 11,573 people, or 1.2 percent, over the four years, but that slowed to just 0.4 percent in the final year of data as the city of Milwaukee drew younger professionals to the area. Neighboring Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties all saw higher growth during the same time, however.
Iron County in far northern Wisconsin had the largest population loss on a percentage basis at 2.6 percent, but that was just 178 people from its population of less than 7,000.
The state's overall population rose by 2.5 percent, or 134,634, to 5.5 million.
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