Wisconsin businesses and workers produced a total economic value of more than $336 billion in 2018 alone, which represents a major rebound since the depths of the Great Recession about a decade ago. Since 2009, Wisconsin’s economy has grown by nearly 40%, and the state today has among the nation’s lowest rates of unemployment, just 3.3%.
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Nearly 150,000 employer firms are operating across the state of Wisconsin, and nearly 3 million people are employed in a wide variety of industries. Trade, transport and utilities account for the largest share of any sector, with about 18% of jobs in that sector, followed by manufacturing, which accounts for another 16% and education and health services, which adds about 15%.
Wisconsin is the home state of more than two dozen Fortune 500 companies and recorded an estimated $6 million in startup investment in the third quarter of 2019 alone, meaning the state’s economy is a healthy mix of old and new.
That’s great news for individuals in the business analytics field, since every company, organization or government board increasingly relies on numbers to make wise decisions and guide their plans. People who are trained to harness those numbers can have very long and fruitful careers across every conceivable industry.
What can business analytics professionals expect to earn here in Wisconsin, what educational opportunities exist in our state, and what are some real-life examples of employers seeking to bring new business analytics professionals on-board?
Business Analytics Salaries in Wisconsin
The most obvious possible job title in business analytics is Business Analyst, but that’s far from the only role that can be filled by a person with a degree in the field. The possibilities are virtually limitless, ranging from very tech-focused, such as Quantitative Modeler, to more a more old-school feel, like Budget Analyst.
What are some possible business analytics job titles? Here’s a look at a few that exist here in Wisconsin:
- Market Research Analyst
- Data Scientist
- Management Consultant
- Financial Analyst
- Budget Analyst
- Insights Analyst
- Business Intelligence Specialist
- Research Executive
- Decision Engineer
- Marketing Engagement Analyst
- Quantitative Modeler
- Operations Research Analyst
How much do these jobs pay, and how does Wisconsin compare to other states for salaries, employment and other relevant statistics? To understand the state of business analytics employment in Wisconsin, let’s explore recently published data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, focusing on five specific job titles within business analytics.
For all five of the business analytics jobs we researched, the median annual wage in Wisconsin is lower than the overall U.S. median, but all five jobs carry wages that are considerably higher than Wisconsin’s overall median wage for all jobs, $37,960.
Median annual wage, Wisconsin vs. U.S.
| Job Title | Wisconsin | U.S. |
| Budget Analyst | $70,650 | $76,220 |
| Financial Analyst | $71,330 | $85,660 |
| Management Analyst | $73,570 | $83,610 |
| Market Research Analyst | $53,810 | $63,120 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $69,890 | $83,390 |
While it’s true that Wisconsin lags behind the national rates for all five jobs, the state still keeps pace with other states in many ways. For instance, Wisconsin’s median annual wage for Budget Analysts is among the half nationally, which indicates Wisconsin can generally be thought of as a good representation of business analytics wages.
Median annual wage, Budget Analyst, top 25
| District of Columbia | $100,210 |
| Maryland | $89,710 |
| Virginia | $89,710 |
| California | $86,730 |
| Massachusetts | $83,240 |
| Connecticut | $81,850 |
| Alabama | $80,910 |
| New Jersey | $80,740 |
| Rhode Island | $80,320 |
| Colorado | $79,630 |
| Hawaii | $79,610 |
| Michigan | $78,750 |
| Alaska | $77,130 |
| Minnesota | $76,400 |
| New York | $75,260 |
| Utah | $74,610 |
| New Hampshire | $74,410 |
| Oregon | $74,060 |
| New Mexico | $73,700 |
| Texas | $73,170 |
| Washington | $73,020 |
| Illinois | $72,820 |
| Iowa | $72,550 |
| Ohio | $72,410 |
| Maine | $70,770 |
| Wisconsin | $70,650 |
In addition to wages that are relatively well-representative of overall U.S. wages, Wisconsin is a leader among Midwestern states in many areas related to business analytics employment. While the job title of Business Analyst isn’t among the most common, Wisconsin does lead the region in the prevalence of these jobs.
Budget Analyst employment per 1,000 jobs, Midwestern states
| Wisconsin | 0.305 |
| South Dakota | 0.299 |
| Nebraska | 0.269 |
| North Dakota | 0.264 |
| Missouri | 0.245 |
| Illinois | 0.243 |
| Kansas | 0.197 |
| Ohio | 0.185 |
| Iowa | 0.174 |
| Minnesota | 0.173 |
| Michigan | 0.158 |
| Indiana | 0.138 |
If the numbers in Wisconsin for business analytics aren’t exactly eye-popping today, business analytics professionals may be advised to keep their eyes on the future, as Wisconsin is expected to see double-digit growth over the next decade in four of the five business analytics jobs we studied.
Wisconsin job opening growth rate, short- and long-term
| Job Title | Short-term | Long-term |
| Budget Analyst | 1.1% | 5.5% |
| Financial Analyst | 2.6% | 15.2% |
| Management Analyst | 2.7% | 16.2% |
| Market Research Analyst | 5.0% | 24.7% |
| Operations Research Analyst | 5.1% | 29.9% |
Note: Short-term 2016-2020; long-term 2016-2026
Wages vary considerably across Wisconsin, and in the case of all five jobs, there’s at least one Wisconsin city that offers wages that beat the overall state median.
Median annual wage, Wisconsin vs. select cities
| Job Title | Wisconsin | Milwaukee | Madison | Oshkosh |
| Budget Analyst | $70,650 | $76,400 | $68,500 | — |
| Financial Analyst | $71,330 | $74,980 | $74,360 | $66,350 |
| Management Analyst | $73,570 | $79,740 | $73,400 | $69,310 |
| Market Research Analyst | $53,810 | $56,760 | $57,770 | $52,840 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $69,890 | $79,510 | $71,700 | $71,580 |
Wisconsin Business Analytics Degree Programs
Wisconsin universities and colleges are often ranked among the best in the nation, and it’s no different for education in business analytics and related fields. Whether they’re considering public or private education, business analytics students should have ample options.
Here’s a look at some of the colleges and universities in Wisconsin that offer degrees in the field:
Business Analytics Degree Jobs in Wisconsin
We’ve seen what slow-moving federal data has to say about how healthy the business analytics employment landscape is in Wisconsin, but let’s get some real-time analysis by taking a look at some actual companies that were seeking to hire business analytics professionals in late 2019.
SEE ALSO: Masters in Business Analytics Salary Outlook
Here are just a handful of the many examples:
- Server Products
- GGS Information Services
- Inland Packaging
- City of Madison
- PerBlue
- Uline
- Grande Cheese Co.
- Ameriprise Auto & Home
- Nexidia
- PlayMonster
- Humana
- Rockwell Automation
- Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- State of Wisconsin
- Sentry
- Fidelity National Information Services
- Kohl’s
- Milliman
- Verizon
- Oshkosh Corp.
Conclusion
The future is bright, indeed, for people with advanced training and experience in business analytics. That’s why earning a degree in the field could be the best investment a person could make in the future of their career if they can find a program with a solid foundation in traditional business methods and a cutting-edge technological education.
References
Note: Information on recent job openings was gathered from Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com in late 2019.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, Wisconsin. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.wi.htm
PWC/CB Insights, MoneyTree Report, Q3 2019. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/us/en/moneytree-report/assets/moneytree-report-q3-2019.pdf
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics Query System, Custom Tables. (Undated). Accessed from https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/home
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Wisconsin. (2019). Retrieved from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WINGSP
U.S. Census Bureau, Quick Facts, Wisconsin. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WI/PST045218