October is Manufacturing Month which means it’s time to celebrate all things manufacturing in Fond du Lac County and recognize this sector helps make our economy strong.

Here are five reasons why manufacturing matters in Fond du Lac County:

1. Manufacturing Employs –23.8% of jobs (11,708 of the 49,177 total jobs) in the County are in the manufacturing sector.
2. Manufacturing Pays – The average annual wage in the manufacturing sector stood at approximately $68,064.
3. Manufacturing Produces – Manufacturing in Fond du Lac County produced $1.9 billion in value for 2022, which accounts for 30.1% of the County’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
4. Manufacturing Innovates – According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), manufacturers in the United States perform 55% of all private-sector research and development, driving more innovation than any other sector.
5. Manufacturing Thrives – Fond du Lac County has an overall manufacturing location quotient that is almost three times the national average. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a location quotient greater than one (1.0) means the industry’s share of employment in the area is greater than its share of employment in the nation as a whole. Wisconsin (1.95) has the second highest concentration of manufacturing employment in the country and Fond du Lac County has a location quotient 1 point higher than the state.

(Data Sources: JobsEQ; National Association of Manufacturers; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)