Flag of Wisconsin

What the flag looks like

A dark blue field with the state coat of arms in the center, a shield held by a sailor and a miner with a badger on top and the motto "Forward", between "WISCONSIN" in white above and "1848" in white below.

What it means

The sailor and miner stand for work on water and land, the badger for the state nickname, and 1848 is the year of statehood.

How to remember it

Wisconsin brackets its arms with WISCONSIN above and 1848 below, and a little badger sits on top of the shield.

Fun facts

• The name and the date 1848 were added in 1981 to make the flag stand out from other blue state flags.
• Wisconsin's nickname comes from early lead miners who lived in hillside dugouts, like badgers.

Wisconsin at a glance

Nickname

The Badger State

Statehood

1848

Capital

Madison

Region

East North Central

Population

5.9 million

Area

169,635 km²

Flag adopted

1981

Flags often confused with Wisconsin

• Montana: Montana and Wisconsin are both blue with an emblem and the state name above it. Wisconsin's name is white with "1848" below and a badger on the shield; Montana's name is gold, with a round seal of mountains and waterfalls.
• Michigan: Michigan and Wisconsin both show a coat of arms with supporters on blue. Michigan's supporters are an elk and a moose under a bald eagle; Wisconsin's are a sailor and a miner, with WISCONSIN written above.
• Kentucky: Kentucky and Wisconsin both show two men in a seal on blue. Kentucky's men shake hands, with COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY above; Wisconsin's sailor and miner flank a shield, with WISCONSIN above and 1848 below.