Related Information

Read this if you need non-publicly available data to answer your research question.

Wondering what all those negative values mean and how we name variables? Read this.

Need help understanding the difference between wide-form and long-form WLS data? Read this.

Information about the scales constructed from the WLS data. (Only includes measures before the 2011 wave.)

Various ways of calculating retention and response rates of WLS 1957-2011.

WLS staff combined information from each round of survey to create a marital history for each ever-married participant.

View documentation for this roster here.

View frequencies for the Graduate Roster and for the Sibling Roster

• Female_Grad_Job_History (Puts women’s jobs (through 1993) in chronological order)
• College_Characteristics (Characteristics of colleges Grads attended from 1957-1975)
• 1975_Employer_Characteristics  (Company characteristics for current or last job that the Graduate held in the five years proceeding and including 1975)

To request the data listed above please send email to wls@ssc.wisc.edu.

• Area Resource File
• Wisconsin Elementary and Secondary School District Characteristics1945-1957
• Resources of Wisconsin High School Districts 1954-1957
• WLS Linked 1940 Census File

Search for variables in the WLS dataset.

Issues with the data or documentation? Please contact us if you notice any problems with the data or documentation.