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Ham radio operators in Wisconsin: new licenses by county

11,233 licensed amateur radio operators; 336 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
16
New hams · last 12 months
336
▼ 3% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
11,233
Upgrades · 12 mo
194
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
91
Address updates · 12 mo
129
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
679

About ham radio in Wisconsin

New licenses held steady in Wisconsin: 336 new hams in the past 12 months (down 3% from the year before). Wisconsin ranks #27 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Dane County leads the state with 51 new hams. Among larger counties, Milwaukee County is growing fastest. Technicians make up 42% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, a sign of an experienced community with many HF operators.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Wisconsin, October 2025 to September 2026 336 in total. Highest: 42 in June 2026. Lowest: 0 in October 2025. Down 3% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 0 new hams 0 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 27 new hams 27 Nov Dec 2025: 26 new hams 26 Dec Jan 2026: 26 new hams 26 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 34 new hams 34 Feb Mar 2026: 33 new hams 33 Mar Apr 2026: 39 new hams 39 Apr May 2026: 40 new hams 40 May Jun 2026: 42 new hams 42 Jun Jul 2026: 21 new hams 21 Jul Aug 2026: 29 new hams 29 Aug Sep 2026: 19 new hams 19 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Wisconsin
MonthNew hams
Oct 20250
Nov 202527
Dec 202526
Jan 202626
Feb 202634
Mar 202633
Apr 202639
May 202640
Jun 202642
Jul 202621
Aug 202629
Sep 202619
Total336

License classes

Active licensees in Wisconsin by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 4,72042%48%
General 3,15228%25%
Amateur Extra 2,64224%21%
Advanced 4594%3%
Novice / Other 2602%2%

Bar = Wisconsin share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 80 operators upgraded to General and 97 to Amateur Extra.

How Wisconsin compares

#27 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsWisconsinU.S.
New hams, past 12 months29.932.3
Upgrades, past 12 months17.314.7
Expiring, next 6 months60.457.3

336 new hams in Wisconsin this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 10 Wisconsin counties for new hams

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#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Dane County51▲ 9%1,15844.0
2Milwaukee County35▲ 13%1,06033.0
3Waukesha County23▼ 28%90225.5
4Brown County16▼ 20%42637.6
5La Crosse County12—22852.6
6Kenosha County10—30932.4
7St. Croix County10—23342.9
8Outagamie County9▼ 47%34426.2
9Portage County9—17750.8
10Columbia County7—12556.0

— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.

All Wisconsin counties

31 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Wisconsin counties

These 41 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 41 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Adams County550
Ashland County380
Barron County843
Bayfield County431
Buffalo County161
Burnett County473
Calumet County901
Chippewa County1242
Clark County441
Crawford County421
Door County890
Florence County132
Forest County110
Grant County783
Green County810
Green Lake County250
Iowa County460
Iron County231
Jackson County260
Juneau County682
Kewaunee County431
Lafayette County160
Langlade County391
Lincoln County1063
Marinette County1243
Marquette County471
Menominee County30
Monroe County792
Oconto County744
Pepin County100
Price County470
Richland County510
Rusk County353
Sawyer County370
Shawano County460
Taylor County311
Trempealeau County541
Vernon County560
Vilas County690
Washburn County392
Waushara County553

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Wisconsin

How many ham radio operators are in Wisconsin?

11,233 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Wisconsin as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Wisconsin last year?

336 people in Wisconsin received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Wisconsin counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Dane County (51), Milwaukee County (35) and Waukesha County (23).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

100% of Wisconsin licensees could be matched to a county.