English Population in Milwaukee County, WI by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The English population in Milwaukee County, WI is officially recorded at 34,072, with all of the county''s incorporated cities reporting residents of English ancestry. Among them, Milwaukee (12,450), Wauwatosa (3,399), and West Allis (2,813) account for the largest shares. Interestingly, when adding up individual city estimates, the total surpasses the county-level figure - a difference that often arises from how city and county statistics are modeled separately. Below, we explore how English communities are distributed across Wisconsin''s more urbanized and fragmented counties.

Top 5 cities with the largest English population in Milwaukee County

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  • 1
    Milwaukee
    English population in Milwaukee is 12,450
    2.19% of Milwaukee population is English
  • 2
    Wauwatosa
    English population in Wauwatosa is 3,399
    7.12% of Wauwatosa population is English
  • 3
    West Allis
    English population in West Allis is 2,813
    4.72% of West Allis population is English
  • 4
    Franklin
    English population in Franklin is 2,755
    7.71% of Franklin population is English
  • 5
    Greenfield
    English population in Greenfield is 1,809
    4.84% of Greenfield population is English

Overview of English population in Milwaukee County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Milwaukee County contains 34,072 English residents (3.7% of 927,656 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 93rd percentile nationally among counties and 97th percentile within Wisconsin for English demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate Milwaukee County's English population of 3.7% remains below Wisconsin's state average of 6.6% and the national average of 9.1%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Milwaukee County with 34,072 English residents, representing 8.8% of Wisconsin's total English population of 386,071.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Milwaukee County maintains 141.1 English Americans per square mile, representing nineteen and three-quarters times Wisconsin's average of 7.1 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
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19 Cities in Milwaukee County Ranked by English Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm English populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, West Allis, and Franklin. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 19 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Milwaukee County, WI ranked by English population count
Rank by English Population
City
English Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Milwaukee County English Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Milwaukee 12,450 2.19% 36.54%
2 Wauwatosa 3,399 7.12% 9.98%
3 West Allis 2,813 4.72% 8.26%
4 Franklin 2,755 7.71% 8.09%
5 Greenfield 1,809 4.84% 5.31%
6 Whitefish Bay 1,574 10.67% 4.62%
7 Oak Creek 1,511 4.14% 4.43%
8 1,382 10.10% 4.06%
9 1,107 5.39% 3.25%
10 875 6.66% 2.57%
11 855 12.67% 2.51%
12 815 4.54% 2.39%
13 695 4.74% 2.04%
14 615 4.88% 1.81%
15 463 6.07% 1.36%
16 382 4.10% 1.12%
17 235 5.34% 0.69%
18 193 11.78% 0.57%
19 169 4.16% 0.50%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Milwaukee County, WI by their English population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines English population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having English ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as English alone, while others identify as English along with another race (such as English and German).
  • We’ve used the “English alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the English population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as English alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as English .
  2. % of Total Milwaukee County English Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. English population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small English populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported English population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where English populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.