National Economic Strength Rankings ‐ 2017
By William H. Fruth
There are 382 Metropolitan Areas
| City (Area) | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Appleton, WI | 138 | 171 | 156 |
| Duluth MN - Superior, WI | 272 | 246 | 285 |
| Eau Claire, WI | 79 | 91 | 74 |
| Fond du Lac, WI | 260 | 298 | 289 |
| Green Bay, WI | 48 | 42 | 56 |
| Janesville-Beloit, WI | 353 | 333 | 305 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI | 121 | 177 | 138 |
| Madison, WI | 12 | 16 | 16 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis | 50 | 93 | 82 |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 128 | 105 | 102 |
| Racine, WI | 267 | 323 | 315 |
| Sheboygan, WI | 192 | 191 | 191 |
| Wausau, WI | 124 | 142 | 145 |
| Average Rank | 157 | 171 | 166 |
| Median Rank | 128 | 171 | 145 |
There are 551 Micropolitan Areas
| City (Area) | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Baraboo, WI | 13 | 62 | 56 |
| Beaver Dam, WI | 19 | 37 | 32 |
| Iron Mountain, MI-WI | 148 | 184 | 206 |
| Manitowoc, WI | 85 | 121 | 123 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 300 | 251 | 319 |
| Menomonee, WI | 170 | 109 | 94 |
| Merrill, WI | 227 | 291 | 273 |
| Platteville, WI | 152 | 135 | 164 |
| Stevens Point, WI | 44 | 111 | 76 |
| Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI | 75 | 152 | 153 |
| Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI | 54 | 98 | 141 |
| Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI | 222 | 162 | 77 |
| Average Rank | 126 | 143 | 143 |
| Median Rank | 116.5 | 128 | 132 |
Want more Fruth? Check out the Economic Forecast Lunch on Jan. 22.
“Economic strength is the long term tendency for an area to consistently grow in both size and quality.”
POLICOM has created economic strength rankings for all Metropolitan Statistical Areas since 1996 and all Micropolitan Statistical Areas since they were created in 2002. Metropolitan and Micropolitan Areas are geographically defined by the Office of Management and Budget, The
White House. The principal criteria to determine the area is commuting patterns. A local economy is determined by where people live and work, earn and spend. Oftentimes this activity crosses county boundaries.
Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Metropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000, plus adjacent territory (counties) which have a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting. They must have at minimum one county but most include several counties.
There are 382 Metropolitan Areas.
Micropolitan Statistical Areas
Once looked upon as quasi‐rural areas, a Micropolitan Statistical Area must have an urbanized area (city) with a population of at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000. They must be at least one county and most are.
There are 551 Micropolitan Areas.
Economic Strength Methodology
Regional Economic Information System (REIS) data is the principal data set used to create the rankings as it has been collected in a reasonably consistent manner from source data since 1969. Data for 2015 was released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in October of 2016.
The formulas used to determine economic strength measure how the economy has behaved, not what has caused it to perform. Click here for the data sectors used to create the rankings.
POLICOM Corporation
POLICOM Corporation is an independent economic research firm specializing in analyzing local and state economies. Through its research, it determines if an area is growing or declining, identifies what is causing this to happen, and offers ideas and solutions to improve the situation.
William H. Fruth, its president and researcher for this study, has analyzed the data for more than 800 local economies, created more than 200 community economic studies, and has provided economic presentations and workshops in 40 states.
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