Welcome To Wisconsin

"The growth always outstrips our predictions."

"Up here, it's just better," said Scott Hessing, 38, who moved to Kenosha from St. Charles, Ill., with his wife and two sons. "There's a better life for the boys, better schools, more for the kids to do."

Bucking a regional trend, more people moved into the state in recent years than left it

Wisconsin was the only state in the upper Midwest to eke out a small population gain from domestic migration from 2000 to 2004, according to estimates being released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

During that period, 13,603 more people moved into Wisconsin than left the state. By comparison, Illinois had a net loss of more than 287,000 people, and Michigan saw a net loss of nearly 114,000. Minnesota, Iowa and Indiana each also saw thousands of more people leave their states than moved in from elsewhere.

Read more: JSOnline