Green Bay: Economy

Major Industries and Commercial Activity

Green Bay's economy is highly diversified. The majority of jobs in the area are service providing—following sectors are goods producing; trade, transportation, and utilities; manufacturing; and government. One of every five jobs in the county is in manufacturing, many of which are within or directly related to the paper industry. Growing industries in Green Bay are healthcare, insurance, and transportation. Tourism is growing, as well. A study in the late 1990s found that the Green Bay Packers generated $144 million in total annual spending in Brown County, 1,620 full- and part-time jobs, and $9.6 million in annual tax revenue to local and state government.

Brown County is among the top four jobbing, wholesale, and distribution points in Wisconsin. Green Bay is the site of a petroleum storage terminal. The city ranks as a major retailing center for northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

Items and goods produced: tissue paper and paper products, cheese, food products, lumber, woodwork, paper mill machinery, paper boxes, clothing, steel furniture, auto parts, dairy products, gloves, fertilizers, foundry products, brick tile, sheet metal, awnings

Incentive Programs—New and Existing Businesses

Local programs

The principal economic development organization in Green Bay is Advance, a publicly and privately supported branch of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Advance uses its online database to inform interested business about available sites and buildings. The Business Retention committee assists companies in troubleshooting municipal service problems, job training needs, and other issues. The Chamber's Small Business Council assists and meets regularly to promote the interests of businesses with up to 300 employees. The Advance Business Development Center is one of the most successful incubators in Wisconsin, having graduated more than 100 start-up firms by allowing them to lease increasingly larger amounts of shared light industrial and office space as their firms grow.

State programs

The Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) and the Wisconsin Economic Development Institute (WEDI) are two nonprofit agencies that provide information and financial services, legal and legislative assistance, and networking opportunities for their member businesses. On the government side, the Division of Business Development of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce provides technical assistance and financial incentives to businesses in the areas of business planning, site selection, capitalization, permits, training and recruitment, and research and development. On April 28, 2000, Governor Tommy G. Thompson signed into law a bill that created the Wisconsin Technology Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan board that serves to create, develop and retain science and technology-based business in Wisconsin, and to serve as an advisor to the Governor and the Legislature. The Council also serves as the key link between the state's colleges and universities and the business expertise and capital offered by the financial service industry. Recently the firm published its "Vision 2020: A Model Wisconsin Economy" as a blueprint for its efforts over the next two decades.

Job training programs

Partners in Education (PIE), coordinated by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, works with businesses, educators, and community organizations to provide skills that help students transitioning from school to work.

Development Projects

Downtown Green Bay, Inc. brings together people, organizations, and funds to implement and facilitate downtown development projects. As of 2005 the organization had assisted with Baylake Bank's restoration of the old Boston Store property; a $4.5 million, 26,000 square-foot addition to the YWCA; construction of a $16 million, four-story building for the Nicolet National Bank at the corner of Cherry and Washington; and won approval from the Common Council on a riverfront redevelopment plan that will include an urban beach and boardwalk. Other projects in the works were a major hotel/condominium project for the old Younkers Building site on Washington, and a proposed $10 million riverfront loft development. Additionally, the Green Bay Packers completed a $295 million renovation of historic Lambeau Field in 2003, adding 11,625 seats, 166 private boxes, twice as many concession stands, 500 restrooms, and a new concourse.

Economic Development Information: Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, 400 S. Washington St., PO Box 1660, Green Bay, WI 54305-1660; telephone (920)437-8704; fax (920)437-1024

Commercial Shipping

The Port of Green Bay is an international and domestic port with a navigation season extending from April through December. More than 200 commercial vessels transport cargo through the channel each year; port tonnage averages more than 2.4 million metric tons annually. Linking the port with inland markets are an interstate highway, air cargo service, 40 motor freight carriers and the Green Bay & Western, Soo Line, Chicago & Northwestern, and Escanaba & Lake Superior railroads.

Labor Force and Employment Outlook

A relatively diverse economy and an attractive small-town lifestyle have kept Green Bay's job outlook ahead of the curve in the early 2000s, despite a nationwide rise in unemployment in recent years. The local education prospects are excellent on both a secondary and university/technical level, providing a pool of well-trained workers. During years of strong economic growth, however, firms have often found a shortage of qualified workers and recruitment and retention become issues of concern. Partners in Education (PIE), coordinated by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, provides a link between businesses, educators, and community organizations with an objective to assist students in developing the skills necessary for successful transition from school to an eventual career involving lifelong learning.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Green Bay metropolitan area labor force, 2004 annual averages.

Size of non-agricultural labor force: 167,900

Number of workers employed in . . .

mining and construction: 9,100

manufacturing: 31,200

trade, transportation and public utilities: 36,000

information: 2,500

financial activities: 11,000

professional and business services: 14,700

educational and health services: 20,500

leisure and hospitality: 15,100

other services: 7,100

government: 20,800

Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $16.19 (statewide figure)

Unemployment rate: 5.6% (February 2005)

Cost of Living

The cost of living in Green Bay ranks consistently below the national average in health care, utilities, housing, food, and miscellaneous goods and services.

The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors in the Green Bay area.

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Average House Price: $277,172

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Cost of Living Index: 96.7 (U.S. average = 100.0)

State income tax rate: Ranges from 4.6% to 6.75% (tax year 2005)

State sales tax rate: 5.0%

Local income tax rate: None

Local sales tax rate: None

Property tax rate: $25.75 per $1,000 of assessed value

Economic Information: Advance, Green Bay Area Economic Development, PO Box 1660, Green Bay, WI 54305-1660; telephone (920)437-8704.

Green Bay: Recreation

Sightseeing

The recently expanded, 25,000 square-foot Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame was moved to the Lambeau Field atrium as part of the newly renovated stadium project. One of Green Bay's most popular attractions, the museum has trophies, memorabilia, and mementos of the Green Bay Packers, including the Vince Lombardi collection and displays on the club's league championships and Super Bowl victories; tours of Lambeau Field are also available. The 40-acre Heritage Hill State Historical Park features furnished historical buildings grouped according to four heritage themes: pioneer, small town, military, and agricultural. Among them are a 1762 fur trader's cabin, a reproduction of Wisconsin's first courthouse, Wisconsin's oldest standing house, Fort Howard buildings dating from the 1830s, and a Belgian farmhouse.

Hazelwood, a home built by Morgan L. Martin, president of the second Wisconsin Constitutional Convention, dates from 1837 and contains the table on which Wisconsin's constitution was drafted. The National Railroad Museum is a locomotive museum that exhibits locomotives and cars from the steam and diesel eras, including "Big Boy," one of the world's largest locomotives. Special attractions are U.S. Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower's World War II staff train and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's traveling car. Other popular attractions are Oneida Bingo and the NEW Zoo, a life science institute that seeks to enhance visitors' understanding of animal life and its relationship to ecological systems.

Many visitors to Green Bay like to take a side trip to Door County, 90 minutes north; it offers miles of shoreline, state parts, and lighthouses, and is home to many artists and craftspersons.

Arts and Culture

The Green Bay Symphony performs a six-concert season at the new Edward W. Weidner Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Both classic and modern plays, ballet, musical events, and nationally touring musical acts are featured at the beautifully-restored Meyer Theater, a 1,000-seat member of the League of Historic American Theaters. The Civic Music Association sponsors visiting artists. St. Norbert College hosts a performing Arts Series and college theater productions, and the Weidner Center also hosts a variety of entertainments, including ballet performances and Broadway musicals. Concerts and ice shows take place at the Resch Center and Brown County Veterans Memorial Complex.

Brown County's Neville Public Museum houses six galleries of art, natural history, and science exhibits; the "On the Edge of the Inland Sea" exhibit traces 13,000 years of northeast Wisconsin history. The Oneida Nation Museum captures the history of the Oneida Utopian community's life after it moved from New York to Wisconsin.

Festivals and Holidays

Artstreet is Green Bay's annual celebration of the performing and visual arts, held in the downtown district. Other annual celebrations include Arti Gras, Bayfest, Celebrate Americafest, the Oneida Indian Pow Wow, Brown County Fair, the Wet Whistle Wine Festival and Ethnic Festival in September, the Terror on the Fox Haunted House and Train Ride in October, and the Holiday Parade.

Sports for the Spectator

The Green Bay Packers, the oldest modern professional football team, enjoy one of the most heralded histories in professional sports; the team plays in the National Football Conference of the National Football League. They compete at home at Lambeau Field against perennial rivals—the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and Minnesota Vikings. Playing in by far the smallest city in the entire NFL, the Packers are the local passion and enjoy a national following; despite the town's size, Packers games are always sold out. In fact, football Sundays in the autumn in Green Bay are treated as community holidays, with tailgate parties, bratwurst on the grill, plenty of beer drinking, and of course, the game. In college athletics, St. Norbert College provides small-college football and baseball in nearby DePere. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay supports a successful soccer program and competes in Division I basketball, making the NCAA basketball tournament, and even winning one game in 2005. The national champion Green Bay Gamblers play in the Junior A U.S. Hockey League.

Sports for the Participant

The Green Bay parks and recreation department oversees numerous city parks large and small, including the Bay Beach Amusement Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, the Metro Boat Launch at the mouth of the Fox River, the SK8 Park for skateboarders and inline skaters, and the Triangle Recreation Area. The department also sponsors sports leagues for all age groups. Facilities include courts for indoor tennis and racquetball, indoor and outdoor public swimming pools, ice skating and hockey rinks, outdoor tennis courts, ski and toboggan hills, and cross-country ski trails. Soccer and rugby teams compete in leagues. Several more boating facilities are available along Green Bay. Green Bay, Fox River, and Lake Michigan provide fishermen with pike, bass, salmon, trout, muskie, and panfish. Hunters can obtain licenses to bag duck, deer, and small game. Children enjoy rides and other activities at Bay Beach Amusement Park. Across the street from the amusement park at Wildlife Sanctuary, a 700-acre urban wildlife refuge, visitors can observe native fauna and hike the nature trails.

Shopping and Dining

The Green Bay area is the regional shopping center for northeastern Wisconsin. Shoppers may choose from among three major shopping malls with nearly 200 stores, minimalls, and craft stores. There are quaint shopping districts with unique shops in the Historic Broadway District of Green Bay on Broadway, and on Main Street in nearby DePere. The Flying Pig gallery and greenspace in Algoma is a local attraction. Of unique interest is the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame Store, offering Packer treasures, at the Lambeau Field Atrium.

Green Bay's more than 100 restaurants offer options ranging from gourmet cuisine to ethnic menus, sports bars, and casual dining establishments, and the options continue to expand. A more recent addition to the menu, diners can enjoy a sunset dinner boat that cruises the Green Bay waterways. Patrick's on the Bay offers beautiful waterside views and what many consider to be the best dining in the area.

Visitor Information: Green Bay Area Visitor and Convention Bureau, 1901 S. Oneida St., PO Box 10596, Green Bay, WI 54307; telephone (920)494-9507; toll-free (888)867-3342; email tourism@dct.com

Green Bay: History

Great Lakes-Mississippi Water Link Sought

On a mission for Samuel de Champlain, the governor of New France, Jean Nicolet was charged with finding a route from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. In 1634 he arrived at La Baye des Puans, where the Fox River empties into Lake Michigan, and claimed the region for France. But La Baye did not gain importance until 1669 when Jesuit missionary Father Claude Allouez, who established a mission there, traveled the length of the Fox River and discovered a waterway to the Mississippi River, indirectly linking the St. Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico.

La Baye became a fur-trading center and its future importance was secured when Nicolas Perrot was made commandant of La Baye. Perrot was an effective diplomat who made alliances and trade agreements with Native Americans. The lands of the upper Mississippi became the possession of the French Empire when a formal agreement was signed at Fort St. Antoine in 1689, turning a lucrative fur trading region over to the French. But when Perrot was recalled to France in 1716, his diplomatic policy was replaced by a military regime. The resulting tensions developed into warfare with the Fox Indians that continued until 1740, when fur trading again prospered and permanent housing was constructed.

In 1745 Augustin de Langlade established a trading center on the bank of the Fox River; his relations with Native Americans were built on trust and respect. Langlade's large family controlled the region's trade, owned large parcels of land, married Menominee tribe women, and lived independent of French rule. During the French and Indian War, the Langlades left La Baye to fight against the British in Ohio and Canada. The British gained control of what was known as the Northwest Territory and captured Fort La Baye, which they rebuilt and renamed Fort Edward August. The British also renamed the area Green Bay, after the green-tinted streaks that stripe the bay in springtime. Trade flourished for both French and English settlers during the period of British rule and continued to prosper after the Northwest Territory was transferred to the U.S. government after the Revolutionary War.

City Develops With Lumber, Professional Sports

It was not until after the War of 1812 that financier John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company secured control of the fur trade. Fort Howard at Green Bay and Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chine were built to protect U.S. commercial interests. The opening of the Erie Canal, linking the Great Lakes to New England, further advanced Green Bay as a trading center. Daniel Whitney platted one part of present-day Green Bay in 1829 and named it Navarino while Astor platted an opposite section and built the Astor Hotel to attract settlers. Astor priced his land too high and when the hotel burned down in 1857 his company relinquished claims on the land. Farming was soon replaced by lumber as the dominant economic activity in Green Bay and in 1853, the year the city was incorporated, 80 million feet of pine lumber were milled.

Today, Green Bay is known as the smallest city in the United States to sponsor a professional football team. The Green Bay Packers were founded in 1919 by "Curly" Lambeau and George Calhoun, sports editor of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, and the team takes its name from the Indian Packing Corporation, which purchased the team's first uniforms. The Packers joined the National Football League in 1919 and have had a distinctive history. Under coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s the Packers set a standard of team performance and dedication that other teams in the league have come to emulate in the modern football era. The Packers won the first two Super Bowl games in 1967 and 1968, and Lombardi and his players became national heroes. Thirty years later, the team won Super Bowl XXXI, beginning a new era under coach Mike Holmgren and general manager Ron Wolf. In addition to championship sports teams, Green Bay supports colleges, a symphony, community chorus, community theater, and several museums. And unlike many Midwestern cities with lagging economic growth, Green Bay has enjoyed a diverse and growing local economy. Using job growth and economic balance as its measures, in 2004 Inc. magazine ranked Green Bay as the country's top medium-sized metropolitan area for doing business.

Historical Information: University of Wisconsin-Green Bay-Area Research Center, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI 54311-7001; telephone (920)465-2539

Green Bay: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Green Bay Area Public School District, the fourth largest school system in the state of Wisconsin, includes, in addition to the city of Green Bay, the towns of Allouez and Scott and parts of the towns of Bellevue, DePere, Eaton, and Humboldt. A seven-member nonpartisan board hires a superintendent.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Green Bay public schools as of the 2002–2003 school year.

Total enrollment: 19,789 (2005)

Number of facilities

elementary schools: 25 (K-5); 2 (K-8)

middle schools: 4

senior high schools: 4

other: Elective academies in all district high schools; Fine Arts Academy

Student/teacher ratio: 14.3:1

Teacher salaries

average: $47,000

Funding per pupil: $9,506

Nearly 30 parochial schools, including Catholic and Lutheran, enroll students in kindergarten through twelfth grade curricula.

Public Schools Information: Green Bay Area Public Schools, PO Box 23387, Green Bay, WI 54305; telephone (920)448-2000

Colleges and Universities

Part of the statewide university system, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay grants associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in such areas as arts and sciences, business, and natural and biological sciences. Of 5,500 students in 2005, nearly 2,000 lived on campus. Top fields of study are business administration, psychology, and human development. St. Norbert College is a four-year liberal arts institution operated by the Norbertine Fathers. Vocational, technical, and adult education is provided by the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College as well as trade schools specializing in particular skills.

Libraries and Research Centers

The largest library in Green Bay is the award-winning Brown County Library, with a circulation of over 2.3 million materials annually. These resources are available through a central library, a bookmobile, and eight branch libraries. Special collections pertain to Brown County history, genealogy, Wisconsin history, and oral history; the library is a depository for state documents. The Nicolet Federated Library is a regional library, serving a population of more than 330,000. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Cofrin Library serves the University of Wisconsin system as well as the northeast Wisconsin community. Libraries are also maintained by Northern Wisconsin Technical College, county agencies, health care organizations, churches, and corporations.

Public Library Information: Brown County Library, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI 54301; telephone (920)448-4400; fax (920)448-4364

Green Bay: Population Profile

Metropolitan Area Residents

1980: 175,280

1990: 194,594

2000: 226,178

Percent change, 1990–2000: 16.2%

U.S. rank in 1990: Not reported

U.S. rank in 2000: 153rd

City Residents

1980: 87,899

1990: 96,466

2000: 102,213

2003 estimate: 101,467

Percent change, 1990–2000: 5.9%

U.S. rank in 1980: 200th

U.S. rank in 1990: 205th

U.S. rank in 2000: 240th

Density: 2,333.6 people per square mile (2000)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 87,841

Black or African American: 1,407

American Indian or Alaska Native: 3,355

Asian: 3,845

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 36

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 7,294

Other: 3,809

Percent of residents born in state: 74.4% (2000)

Age characteristics (2000)

Population under 5 years old: 7,359

Population 5 to 9 years old: 7,254

Population 10 to 14 years old: 7,168

Population 15 to 19 years old: 7,492

Population 20 to 24 years old: 8,632

Population 25 to 34 years old: 16,074

Population 35 to 44 years old: 16,349

Population 45 to 54 years old: 12,766

Population 55 to 59 years old: 3,985

Population 60 to 64 years old: 3,192

Population 65 to 74 years old: 5,783

Population 75 to 84 years old: 4,535

Population 85 years and over: 1,724

Median age: 33.2 years

Births (2004, Brown County)

Total number: 3,200

Deaths (2003, Brown County)

Total number: 1,565

Money income (1999)

Per capita income: $19,269

Median household income: $38,820

Total households: 41,656

Number of households with income of . . .

less than $10,000: 1,091

$10,000 to $14,999: 1,049

$15,000 to $24,999: 2,594

$25,000 to $34,999: 3,072

$35,000 to $49,999: 5,045

$50,000 to $74,999: 7,052

$75,000 to $99,999: 2,614

$100,000 to $149,999: 1,648

$150,000 to 199,999: 418

$200,000 or more: 276

Percent of families below poverty level: 7.4% (42.7% of which were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 3,762