Economy of Door County, Wisconsin

[4] In 2001, the earliest year for which figures were compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP from real estate and rental and leasing in the county was $186 million in chained 2012 dollars.

Although these zones may not necessarily have a high valuation, they generally require few government services and, as a result, in a net profit for the county.

[21] As of 2011, 7,889 residential buildings were located in within a one-fourth mile (400 meters) of the shore,[22] some which form strip developments enclosing scenic areas.

[28] Seiches on Green Bay cycle about every 11 hours but are highly variable and are capable of reversing the flow of water from rivers.

[34] According to the county Land Use Services director, shoreline parcels are frequently listed for sale at almost twice of their tax assessed value.

[35] Shoreline parcels tend to be the most highly valued real estate and are typically owned by non-Wisconsin residents unless they are public property.

The public in this case would be limited to the already overcrowded shoreline of existing parks: and with increasing visitor pressure, these areas would in time become outdoor slums.

The adverse effects on general tourism in the county would be severe; transient visitors who came to sightsee, or enjoy the parks and scenery, and who might stay a night or two in the county (and spend considerable money in total), would have increasingly less reason to visit Door County.and also:[38] One development possibility is to sliver the remaining shoreline into private lots.

This would severely limit public use of the shores and would make the interior area virtually land locked—seriously impairing its development potential.

[40] Charles Prentice for the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program noted:[41] Door County and other unique recreational areas could become overdeveloped and unrecreational.

Unless these decisions are made, the coastal and other recreational areas will be developed without consideration of important factors which do not receive weight in a free market decision-making process.

[43] The high property values combined with low enrollment serve to punish local school districts in the state funding formula.

[52] In 2020, the arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services sector contributed $120 million to the county's GDP in non-inflation adjusted 2020 dollars.

[4] The Bureau of Economic Analysis subdivides the arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services sector into two smaller sub-sectors.

[6] In inflation-adjusted chained 2012 dollars, arts, entertainment, and recreation grew 51% over the six years from 2001 to 2007 when it peaked at the highest value recorded by the BEA.

[4] In inflation-adjusted chained 2012 dollars, accommodation and food services grew 6.6% over the three years from 2001 to when it peaked in 2004 at the highest value recorded by the BEA.

[67] Minerals found in Door County include fluorite,[68] gypsum,[69] calcite,[70] dolomite,[71] quartz,[72] marcasite,[73] and pyrite.

[101] Door County's spending can be explained by both the need to provide services to people present only during the tourism season[102] and by development patterns.

A 2004 study showed that residential and commercial land tends to require more in government services than property taxes generate.

The effect of seasonal residents on persons-per-housing unit figures was once masked by larger family sizes among year-round inhabitants.

[112] In 1984, Jim Cook, an Egg Harbor business owner, stated that the carrying capacity was limited by the degree of pollution in the county.

[114] In a 2008 survey of county residents, the most frequent local concern was the need to control rampant overdevelopment, including condos.

[115] In 2021, Ryan Heise, former Egg Harbor village administrator, stated that it was selfish to think Door County was currently at its tourist carrying capacity.

[124] Homes, cabins, and cottages permitted for short term rentals, 2008 – May 2021[125] Total employment in the county grew 1% from 2016 to 2017.

Meanwhile, Sevastopol, Nasewaupee, Gardner, Union, and the town of Forestville all rank within the top 25% of Wisconsin municipalities for the percent of job holders residing in the community, but commuting somewhere else.

[138] Because foreign workers brought in under the Summer Work Travel Program are sometimes housed in a different community from where they are employed, some have ended up bicycling 10–15 miles a day since they lack cars and the county has limited public transportation.

[140] In 2012, Door County District Attorney Ray Pelrine said the "illegal immigrant workforce is now built into the structure of a lot of businesses here.

[146] In 1986, Dave Crehore noted that "Door County people are 'survivors,' who have put up with the worst aspects of rural and small-town life, along with generations of near-poverty.

[150] In 2019, the villages of Egg Harbor, Ephraim, and Sister Bay had the three highest levels of per capita municipal debt in the county, owing $45,539, $19,061, and $13,568 respectively.

The villages of Egg Harbor, Ephraim, and Sister Bay respectively had the highest, second-highest and fourth-highest per capita debt of all 1,921 Wisconsin local governments in 2019.