Losing Ground: Net New Construction and Inflation

In mid-August, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue released 2026 net new construction (NNC) figures for the state, counties, and municipalities. The statewide rate held nearly steady at 1.64%, compared to 1.65% in 2025 and 1.62% in 2024. The rate plays an important role in county and municipal budgets because of Wisconsin’s levy limit laws.

Some of the most strict in the country, these laws tie the allowable growth in municipal and county levies to the percentage growth in net new construction (that is the increase in equalized value due to new construction less the lost value due to demolished property). In other words, the net new construction rate is effectively the annual budget growth ceiling, before any referendum.

Read the full Forward Analytics Spotlight, Losing Ground: Net New Construction and Inflation, here.