The best source of information on the population status of Wilson's Phalarope is the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), which samples a large proportion of the breeding range and has high precision. BBS data indicate a long-term trend of little change in abundance since the early 1970s, although the population appeared to decline gradually until the mid 1990s before rebounding and stabilizing around earlier levels. Reasonably reliable regional results from the BBS are only available for the Prairies, which have seen little change, and central and northern Alberta, where a large decline has been observed. Additional data are available from migration monitoring by the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM), which show a large decline, but its coverage and reliability are lower than the BBS for this species.

The goal for Wilson's Phalarope is to maintain its population at or above the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the Breeding Bird Survey. Recent data show that the population is within its goal range.