St. Croix Fastest-Growing County in Region

By Eric Lindquist, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.

Jul. 10–With three of the 10 fastest-growing municipalities in Wisconsin, St. Croix County continues to lead the region in population growth, although spiraling gas prices threaten to put the brakes on that torrid expansion.

Roberts, where the population rose 69.5 percent from 969 in 2000 to 1,642 as of July 1, 2007, posted the fourth-fastest growth rate among the state’s 593 municipalities, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Following close behind among St. Croix County communities were Hammond, ranked No. 6 in the state after growing 60.7 percent to 1,853 during the same seven-year period, and Somerset, which increased 46.9 percent to 2,285 to rank 10th.

In all, seven of the fastest-growing municipalities in the region were in St. Croix County. The others were: Hudson, up 37.3 percent; Baldwin, up 34 percent; New Richmond, up 27.6 percent; and Woodville, up 19.4 percent.

But that impressive growth record is unlikely to continue, said Jay Tappen, senior planner for the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

The steady rise in population has been fueled by Twin Cities workers seeking a better quality of life by moving to western Wisconsin areas still within a reasonable commuting distance of their jobs.

“That trend has been reversed by $4 a gallon gas,” Tappen said, citing reports from St. Croix County officials that development has slowed dramatically recently.

The region’s other fastest-growing communities include: Stanley, up 75.6 percent (the result of including the 1,500 inmates at Stanley Correctional Institution, Tappen said) to 3,333; Warrens, up 33.9 percent to 383; and Lake Hallie, up 26.8 percent to 5,887.

On the other end of the spectrum, area municipalities losing at least 10 percent of their population were: Tony, down 13.3 percent to 91; Bruce, down 12.3 percent to 690; Boyd, down 12.2 percent to 597; Sheldon, down 11.7 percent to 226; Weyerhaeuser, down 11.6 percent to 312; Fairchild, down 11.3 percent to 500; and Ladysmith, down 10.3 percent to 3,525.

Five of those communities — Tony, Bruce, Sheldon, Weyerhaeuser and Ladysmith — are in Rusk County, reflecting the difficulty that predominantly rural area has in retaining residents once they reach working age, Tappen said.

“It’s hard to stay where you grew up in these rural areas because there just aren’t the employment opportunities,” he said.

The departure of young adults also can result in declining numbers of school-age children, exacerbating school finance difficulties and potentially leading to school district consolidations, Tappen said.

The Chippewa Valley’s largest communities generally posted moderate gains, the figures show, as the estimated population rose 5.3 percent to 64,980 in Eau Claire, 3.2 percent to 15,421 in Menomonie and 3.1 percent in Chippewa Falls. Altoona’s population dipped 1.7 percent to 6,587.

The estimates also put Milwaukee’s population at 602,191, 22nd largest in the United States.

Lindquist can be reached at 833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com.

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