Skip to main content
Ham Recruiter FCC ULS

Ham radio operators in Wisconsin: new licenses by county

11,225 licensed amateur radio operators; 351 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
26
New hams · last 12 months
351
▲ 7% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
11,225
Upgrades · 12 mo
201
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
93
Address updates · 12 mo
132
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
683

About ham radio in Wisconsin

New licenses held steady in Wisconsin: 351 new hams in the past 12 months (up 7% from the year before). Wisconsin ranks #27 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Dane County leads the state with 53 new hams. 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. 201 operators upgraded their license in the past year, the moment many buy their first HF rig.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Wisconsin, October 2025 to September 2026 337 in total. Highest: 42 in June 2026. Lowest: 0 in October 2025. Up 7% 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: 20 new hams 20 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 202620
Total337

License classes

Active licensees in Wisconsin by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 4,72242%48%
General 3,15228%25%
Amateur Extra 2,64024%21%
Advanced 4524%3%
Novice / Other 2592%2%

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

In the past 12 months, 82 operators upgraded to General and 101 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 months31.333.3
Upgrades, past 12 months17.915.3
Expiring, next 6 months60.858.2

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

Sign Up Free →

Top 10 Wisconsin counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Dane County53▲ 18%1,15845.8
2Milwaukee County36▲ 16%1,06034.0
3Waukesha County23▼ 26%90025.6
4Brown County16▼ 16%42537.6
5La Crosse County12—22852.6
6Kenosha County10—30932.4
7St. Croix County10—23342.9
8Outagamie County9▼ 44%34426.2
9Portage County9—17750.8
10Rock County8—25231.7

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

All Wisconsin counties

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

Smaller Wisconsin counties

These 38 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 38 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Adams County550
Ashland County380
Bayfield County431
Buffalo County161
Burnett County484
Calumet County901
Clark County441
Crawford County421
Door County890
Florence County132
Forest County110
Grant County773
Green County800
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 County460
Richland County510
Rusk County353
Sawyer County350
Shawano County460
Taylor County311
Trempealeau County541
Vernon County560
Washburn County392
Waushara County553

Neighboring states

Share Wisconsin’s numbers

Select the text to copy it.

Email Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)

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?

11,225 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Wisconsin as of Oct 12, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Wisconsin last year?

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

Which Wisconsin counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Dane County (53), Milwaukee County (36) 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.