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

The Italian population in Milwaukee County, WI is officially recorded at 32,329, with all of the county''s incorporated cities reporting residents of Italian ancestry. Among them, Milwaukee (13,936), Wauwatosa (2,612), and West Allis (2,393) 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 Italian communities are distributed across Wisconsin''s more urbanized and fragmented counties.

Top 5 cities with the largest Italian population in Milwaukee County

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  • 1
    Milwaukee
    Italian population in Milwaukee is 13,936
    2.45% of Milwaukee population is Italian
  • 2
    Wauwatosa
    Italian population in Wauwatosa is 2,612
    5.47% of Wauwatosa population is Italian
  • 3
    West Allis
    Italian population in West Allis is 2,393
    4.02% of West Allis population is Italian
  • 4
    Franklin
    Italian population in Franklin is 2,084
    5.83% of Franklin population is Italian
  • 5
    Oak Creek
    Italian population in Oak Creek is 2,059
    5.65% of Oak Creek population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Milwaukee County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Milwaukee County contains 32,329 Italian residents (3.5% of 927,656 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 96th percentile nationally among counties and 98th percentile within Wisconsin for Italian demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS records show Milwaukee County's Italian population of 3.5% aligns with Wisconsin's state average while remaining below the national average of 4.9%, placing both the county and state below typical U.S. demographic concentration levels.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Milwaukee County's 32,329 Italian residents constitute 16% of Wisconsin's total Italian population of 202,088, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 16% of all Wisconsin Italian Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Milwaukee County maintains 133.9 Italian Americans per square mile, representing more than thirty-five times Wisconsin's average of 3.7 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 Italian Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm Italian 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 Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
City
Italian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Milwaukee County Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Milwaukee 13,936 2.45% 43.11%
2 Wauwatosa 2,612 5.47% 8.08%
3 West Allis 2,393 4.02% 7.40%
4 Franklin 2,084 5.83% 6.45%
5 Oak Creek 2,059 5.65% 6.37%
6 Greenfield 1,422 3.81% 4.40%
7 Whitefish Bay 1,211 8.21% 3.75%
8 951 4.63% 2.94%
9 938 6.86% 2.90%
10 932 5.19% 2.88%
11 714 9.36% 2.21%
12 699 4.77% 2.16%
13 598 6.42% 1.85%
14 545 4.15% 1.69%
15 362 2.87% 1.12%
16 334 7.59% 1.03%
17 270 6.64% 0.84%
18 211 3.13% 0.65%
19 76 4.64% 0.24%
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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 Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian 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 Italian 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 Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian 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 Italian .
  2. % of Total Milwaukee County Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian 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 Italian 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 Italian 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 Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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