A blueprint for Door County’s economic future

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

March 9, 2026

DOOR COUNTY – Affordable housing is key to Door County’s economic growth.

That reality, Ryan Hoernke – chair of Door County Economic Development Corporation’s (DCEDC) board of directors and vice president of finance at Therma-Tron-X in Sturgeon Bay – said, is shaped by rising home prices, limited supply, demographic shifts and the geographic constraints of a peninsula bordered by Green Bay and Lake Michigan, is a fundamental aspect of the newly created DCEDC 2026-28 Strategic Plan.

Hoernke said housing dominated conversations among the DCEDC board and strategic plan subcommittee, calling it one of the county’s most pressing economic challenges.

“It’s tough to pick just one [initiative as most important] because there are so many critical for economic prosperity, but housing stands out as critical for the viability of the county,” he said. “We commend various municipalities for bringing in new units during the past two years, with more to come, but this is still a barrier.”

Door County’s year-round population is just more than 30,000 residents – with official U.S. Census Bureau data from 2020 showing 30,066 residents.

Nearly half (49.7%) of residents, per the bureau, are age 55 or older, making it the second-oldest county in Wisconsin.

At the same time, the county – per the Wisconsin Department of Tourism – welcomes more than 2.5 million visitors annually, ranking in the top 10 statewide for visitor spending and generating tens of millions in state and local tax revenue.

Complicated calculations

Spread across 19 municipalities – including the city of Sturgeon Bay, as well as several villages and towns – DCEDC Executive Director Michelle Lawrie said Door County’s housing situation carries an additional nuance.

Twenty-one percent of residents’ income, Lawrie said, comes from transfer payments, up 7.5% from 2000.

That figure is important to note, she said, because it can inflate median household income calculations and complicate housing affordability assessments.

“Where [that income] is coming from is important as it helps to define what’s affordable for housing,” she said. “When looking at median household income, people may think a [house] price should be fine, but a lot of people are earning below that. It’s deceiving without additional context.”

For employers, those numbers can translate into serious hiring constraints, something Hoernke said he can attest to. 

“Bringing people in and finding affordable housing for entry- to middle-[income] families has been challenging, and we’ve had employees who have struggled to find housing,” he said. “They’re looking farther away, to the southern part of the county and into Brown and Outagamie counties because of limited supply and price point.”

Hoernke said the strategic plan acknowledges that and has set a measurable three-year goal: to increase attainable housing units to 350 by the end of 2028.

That benchmark, he said, sits within the Quality of Life pillar in the plan, but it intersects significantly with workforce viability, business retention and residents’ quality of life.

“Continuing to develop affordable housing, and other things associated with it – water, sewer and broadband – is a key component to growing and retaining workforce in the county,” he said. 

Designed for execution, not a shelf

Hoernke said housing isn’t the only priority in the 2026-28 Strategic Plan – which was thoughtfully and methodically created.

In late 2024, Lawrie said the DCEDC board of directors established a strategic plan committee from its board of business leaders, municipal representatives and industry stakeholders.

Over the following months, she said the group participated in facilitated sessions that incorporated findings from a 2024 Business Survey, a SWOT analysis of both Door County and the DCEDC, demographic research and benchmarking against other rural economic development organizations.

Lawrie said the subcommittee met monthly both on initiative-setting as well as to refine the Corporation’s mission, vision and values. 

“We discussed what went well with our last plan, what we wanted to make sure is [in this plan] and creating measurable outcomes,” she said. 

Lawrie said the plan includes five annual and five three-year key indicators to track progress,  signaling an intentional move toward measurable results and transparent reporting.

She said the organization also reaffirmed its mission: enhancing Door County’s economic well-being by providing services, leading initiatives and promoting policies that drive business growth and community prosperity.

Its vision, Lawrie said, calls for empowering Door County’s future by meeting the evolving economic needs of businesses, communities and residents – positioning the DCEDC as catalyst, collaborator and conduit.

Talent: Attraction, retention, development

If housing is the hood of workforce growth, Lawrie said talent strategy is the engine.

The committee’s instincts, she said, were confirmed by the 2024 Business Survey, which revealed cautious optimism among businesses.

Though 57% of respondents felt positive about the county’s economic outlook, Lawrie said 8% cited concerns, primarily related to housing availability and affordability.

The issue, she said, carries added weight as 25% of businesses are hiring for new roles and more than half view talent attraction as essential to their future growth.

Lawrie said that input prompted a structural change to the plan itself.

“Everybody needs to get and keep employees here, so we pulled that [initiative] out as its own pillar in the 2026-28 plan,” she said. “We heard our businesses.”

Attracting, retaining and developing talent, Lawrie said, requires a multifaceted and collaborative approach.

That effort, she said, includes partnering with Destination Door County to help convert visitors into year-round residents – one of the key gateways to strengthening the local workforce.

“We know that most people who come to live here were attracted here as a visitor originally,” she said. “So, how do we leverage that, working with partners such as Destination Door County and Visit Fish Creek, who do a great job of making it a fun place to be, and capture their messaging to apply it to why people should work here and live here?”

Lawrie said the effort also includes collaborating with New North Inc. and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to elevate regional workforce marketing, rebranding the NextWave workforce engagement network and focusing more intentionally on students.

That work, she said, involves strengthening K-12 connections and expanding youth apprenticeship pathways, among other initiatives.

“We need students in our high schools to know all the engagement opportunities for employment and the youth apprenticeships available here and get them into it,” she said. “[It’s also important to] make sure they understand what our economy is – what jobs are here after they finish school.” 

Lawrie said the plan also calls for closer collaboration with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and the Bay Area Workforce Development Board to upskill current employees.

“We already have some great training resources, and we need to connect those opportunities to them,” she said.

Hoernke said though workforce shortages are a reality, a skilled workforce is essential for business growth.

“It’s been improving since COVID-19, but it’s been a slow improvement,” he said. “A lot of businesses could grow further if they could hire and grow their workforce at a higher rate, and it’s definitely not for a lack of trying and being engaged.”

At Therma-Tron-X, Hoernke said addressing the workforce challenge required both creativity and investment, prompting the company to purchase a multi-unit housing property for newly recruited employees and their families.

“Several years ago, the company purchased its own transitional housing, a multi-unit apartment building that we can offer to employees relocating here that fills a gap for those first three to six months,” he said. “It gives them flexibility and time to find their next home locally, such a critical factor.”

Business advancement, advocacy

Beyond talent, Lawrie said the plan emphasizes direct business engagement and policy leadership.

Much of this work, she said, falls to DCEDC, which conducts regular business visits and maintains consistent communication through newsletters and other outreach, including efforts by its public affairs committee. 

Lawrie said the organization also administers and promotes loan programs – such as the Sturgeon Bay Door County Loan Program and the Community Opportunity Investment Network through the Door County Community Foundation – manages existing CARES Act loans and is developing a new locally funded lending initiative.

These, she said, are tangible ways to expand access to capital and support the county’s industries.

Quality of life: An interconnected ecosystem

Lawrie said the quality of life initiative extends beyond housing to encompass many of the necessities and amenities residents expect, including broadband expansion, childcare infrastructure, transportation connectivity and support for the underemployed population.

“We have to work on quality of life issues because it’s an ecosystem,” she said. 

Lawrie said the plan calls for convening the Attainable Housing Committee, collaborating with the county broadband office to expand high-speed internet capabilities, strengthening employer-supported childcare solutions and enhancing workforce mobility through transportation partnerships.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Lawrie said entrepreneurship reflects both Door County’s legacy and its future potential.

The plan, she said, positions DCEDC as an entrepreneurial hub, providing workshops, cohort programs, peer networking and one-on-one advising.

Lawrie said objectives include promoting revolving loan funds, supporting alternative capital platforms, establishing a mentorship network of business leaders and creating a centralized commercial space inventory.

Amplifying impact

Lawrie said the plan’s fifth pillar – communications and engagement – reinforces that strategy without visibility loses momentum.

DCEDC’s communications plan, she said, will focus on engaging investors, reaching businesses and inspiring the workforce through storytelling, data, workshops, media partnerships, quarterly mixers and its Annual Investor Meeting and Awards Event.

Supporting businesses, Lawrie said, ultimately strengthens the overall vitality of the community for residents.

“We want residents to be aware of what we do because our mission is to enhance the lives of residents,” she said. “The main supporters of our work are businesses and communities, but it’s all because of the residents.”

Looking ahead, Hoernke said execution matters even more than documentation.

“The next step is to use this whole plan as a tool,” he said. “The critical part is not losing the momentum and using the plan as a tool to engage and have conversations. The board itself will be using it in upcoming board meetings for initiatives we’re kicking off.”

Echoing Hoernke’s sentiment, Lawrie said the group’s careful planning created an actionable strategy.

“What I’d love for people to walk away with is this group responded to what they heard, and the best ways to go about this and took the time to make sure this is a well-thought-out and actionable strategic plan,” she said. “I look forward to what comes out of it.”

The full strategic plan is available at livedoorcounty.org/strategic-plan.