Pierce County

Population

Total Population

42,722

Population
Growth Rate

0.36%

Median Age

39

Diversity Index

21.100

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-27

Housing & Income

Households

16,474

Total Housing Units

17,424


Owner Occupied

12,400

Renter Occupied

4,074

Vacant

950

Median Home Value

$331,976


Average Home Value

$374,224

Income
Growth Rate

Median
Household Income

0.00%


Per Capita Income

2.96%

Income Projection

Median Household

$86,730 $101,811


Average Household

$109,690 $125,411


Per Capita

$42,437 $49,092

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-27

Workforce

Total Businesses

1,316

Total Employed

11,302

Workers 16+

22,212

2024 Educational Services - Businesses

cp-industries

Businesses

55

Employed

1,923

2024 Public Administration

cp-industries

Businesses

110

Employed

1,235

2024 HealthCare / Social Assistance

cp-industries

Businesses

90

Employed

1,229

2024 Accommodation / Food Service

cp-industries

Businesses

104

Employed

1,022

2024 Food Service / Drinking Est.

cp-industries

Businesses

95

Employed

946

2024 Retail Trade Businesses

cp-industries

Businesses

133

Employed

771

Some
High School

845

Graduated
High School

7,730

Associates
Degree

3,769

Bachelor's
Degree

6,183

Graduate
Degree

3,068

Average Commute Time

28 min.



Resident Commuters

9,077

Non-Resident Commuters

4,554

Drive Alone

16,862

Carpooled

1,858

Public

15

Work At Home

2,286

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-27

Government and Taxation

Wisconsin's business tax structure offers several advantages relative to our neighboring state of Minnesota along with a range of exemptions and incentives to encourage ongoing capital investment.  We will be glad to provide a specific projection and two-state comparison customized to your project parameters for your review with your tax advisor.

 WisconsinMinnesota
Corporate Income Tax Rate7.9%9.8%
Alternative Minimum Taxnone5.8% rate
Property Tax (state average, commercial/industrial)$22 per thousand$33 per thousand
Manufacturing machinery & equipment taxationexempttaxable
Sales & Use tax rate:  
State:5.00%6.50%
County option rate:0.50%0.01% to 9.0%
Local option:none.50% to 1.0 %
Sales tax treatment for manufacturing equipment:EXEMPTrefund mechanism
Unemployment compensation rate base:$13,000$25,000
Unemployment compensation rate range:0.05% -- 9.8%0.4% -- 9.3%
Workers’ compensation, average rate per $100$4.93$8.11 

 

Higher Education

Pierce County is blessed with a wide range of education, training, and employment resources for local firms.  Home to a recognized and accredited campus of the University of Wisconsin, Pierce County also is strategically located within a 50 mile radius of fifteen technical and community college campuses, representing a pool of over 25,000 graduates each year from which to recruit.  Pierce County’s six school districts are also recognized for outstanding secondary education programming, resulting in above-average graduation rates, test scores and continuing education participation.

There are also several outstanding private workforce development firms that serve Pierce County and provide efficient service in the areas of job skill evaluation, compensation and benefit surveying, recruiting, evaluation, training, and forecasting.  Human resource professionals of the region meet monthly at the St. Croix Valley Employers’ Association, a peer group recognized by the Society of Human Resource Management and an excellent networking and information sharing resource for Pierce County firms.

Transportation

Pierce County offers a convenient, cost effective and globally connected location for your business.  We are in the southeast corner of the vibrant and cosmopolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, rated one of "America's Smartest Cities" by American Business Journals.  MSP International Airport, one of the world’s major air transportation hubs with convenient flights to key international destinations, is one half hour west of the City of Prescott and within an hour and ten minutes of all of Pierce County.  Executive jet aircraft often find advantage in using the Red Wing Regional Airport’s 5,010 foot runway, fuel service and FBO operations located in southern Pierce County. Interstate 94 is just north of Pierce County for easy highway access to the Twin Cities, Chicago, Kansas City, and the rest of the country.  Several local trucking and warehousing firms provide a wide range of logistics services .  The Burlington Northern Santa Fe system main line between the Twin Cities and Chicago runs along Pierce County’s southern border, and four other rail systems maintain facilities within a half hour of our County.  There’s even a Mississippi River terminal across from Pierce County for  users of commodities transported by river barge. 

The County’s metro location, just across the scenic St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers from Minnesota, also carries the unique potential of business tax savings from a Wisconsin platform.  Generally, Wisconsin’s business tax structure climate offers a more favorable commercial and industrial property tax rate, a more favorable corporate income tax rate, a more favorable unemployment compensation base and rating system, and more favorable workers’ compensation tax rates for most occupations.  Some companies have found that their tax savings from moving to Wisconsin has completely financed the debt service on their new Wisconsin facilities. 

Contact Pierce County Economic Development Corporation for case studies and a customized two-state tax comparison for your new facility.