City in Wisconsin, United States
Milwaukee
Logo
Nickname(s): Cream City,
[ 1] Brew City,
[ 2] Beer Capital of the World,
[ 3] Miltown,
[ 4] The Mil, MKE, The City of Festivals,
[ 5] The German Athens of America,
[ 6] The 414 [ 7] Interactive map of Milwaukee
Show map of the United States Coordinates: 43°03′N 87°57′W / 43.05°N 87.95°W / 43.05; -87.95 Country United States State Wisconsin Counties Milwaukee , Washington , Waukesha Incorporated January 31, 1846; 178 years ago (1846-01-31 ) Founded by Solomon Juneau , Byron Kilbourn , and George H. Walker Named for Potawatomi for "gathering place by the water" • Type Strong mayor-council • Body Milwaukee Common Council • Mayor Cavalier Johnson (D ) • City 96.81 sq mi (250.75 km2 ) • Land 96.18 sq mi (249.12 km2 ) • Water 0.63 sq mi (1.63 km2 ) Elevation
617 ft (188 m) • City 577,222 • Estimate 575,722[ 9] • Rank 80th in North America31st in the United States1st in Wisconsin • Density 6,000/sq mi (2,300/km2 ) • Urban
1,306,795 (US: 38th ) • Urban density 2,818.3/sq mi (1,088.2/km2 ) • Metro 1,574,731 (US: 40th ) • CSA
2,049,805 (US: 33rd ) Demonym Milwaukeean • MSA $120.563 billion (2022) Time zone UTC−6 (CST ) • Summer (DST ) UTC−5 (CDT )ZIP Codes
53172, 53201–53216, 53218–53228, 53233–53234, 53237, 53259, 53263, 53267–53268, 53274, 53278, 53288, 53290, 53293, 53295
Area code 414 FIPS code 55-53000[ 14] GNIS feature ID1577901[ 15] Website city .milwaukee .gov
Milwaukee ( mil-WAW -kee ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County .[ 16] With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census , Milwaukee is the 31st-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous city in the Midwest .[ 17] [ 18] [ 19] It is the central city of the Milwaukee metropolitan area , the 40th-most populous metro area in the U.S. with 1.57 million residents.[ 20]
Milwaukee is an ethnically and culturally diverse city.[ 21] However, it continues to be one of the most racially segregated cities, largely as a result of early-20th-century redlining .[ 22] Its history was heavily influenced by German immigrants in the 19th century, and it continues to be a center for German-American culture,[ 23] specifically becoming well known for its brewing industry . In recent years, Milwaukee has undergone several development projects, some of which have added to the city's skyline.[ 24] In 2024 Architectural Digest , a prominent design publication, rated Milwaukee’s skyline as the 15th most beautiful skyline in the world.[ 25] Major additions to the city since the turn of the 21st century include the Wisconsin Center , American Family Field , The Hop streetcar system , an expansion to the Milwaukee Art Museum , Milwaukee Repertory Theater , the Bradley Symphony Center ,[ 26] and Discovery World , as well as major renovations to the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena . Fiserv Forum opened in late 2018, and hosts sporting events and concerts.
Milwaukee is categorized as a "Gamma minus" city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ,[ 27] with a regional GDP of over $102 billion in 2020.[ 28] Since 1968, Milwaukee has been home to Summerfest , a large music festival.[ 29] Milwaukee is home to the Medical College of Wisconsin , UW-Milwaukee , Marquette University , MSOE , and several other colleges. The city is represented in two of the four major professional sports leagues − the Bucks of the NBA and the Brewers of MLB . Milwaukee is home to the Fortune 500 companies of Northwestern Mutual , Fiserv , WEC Energy Group , Rockwell Automation , and Harley-Davidson .[ 30]
^ Henzl, Ann-Elise (December 27, 2019). "How Milwaukee Got The Nickname 'Cream City' " . wuwm.com . WUWM . Retrieved August 17, 2021 .
^ "Official Brew City Map" . visitmilwaukee.org . Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021 .
^ "Milwaukee: Beer Capital of the World" . beerhistory.com . Retrieved August 17, 2021 .
^ Snyder, Molly (August 30, 2008). "Nicknames for Milwaukee and Wisconsin" . onmilwaukee.com . Retrieved August 17, 2021 .
^ "The City of Festivals" . visitmilwaukee.org . Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021 .
^ Tolzmann, Don Heinrich. "A Center of German Culture, Milwaukee, Wisconsin" . gamhof.org . Retrieved August 17, 2021 .
^ Tarnoff, Andy (April 14, 2021). "The 411 on the 414 area code" . onmilwaukee.com . Retrieved August 17, 2021 .
^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020 .
^ "Demographic Services Center's 2023 Population Estimates: Wisconsin's Population Increases Modestly" (PDF) . State of Wisconsin . Wisconsin Department of Administration. Retrieved May 4, 2024 .
^ "QuickFacts: Milwaukee city, Wisconsin" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 24, 2021 .
^ Cite error: The named reference USCensusEst2021
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2021 .
^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI (MSA)" . fred.stlouisfed.org .
^ "U.S. Census website" . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008 .
^ "US Board on Geographic Names" . United States Geological Survey . October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008 .
^ "The Counties" . Wisconsin Counties Association . Retrieved January 11, 2023 .
^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates" . Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
^ "U.S. Census website" . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 11, 2016 .
^ "The Largest Cities In The Midwest" . worldatlas.com . January 4, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021 .
^ "Population Change for Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas" . Census.gov .
^ Mak, Adrian (June 24, 2020). "Most Diverse Cities in the U.S." advisorsmith.com . Retrieved March 7, 2021 .
^ Foltman, Leah; Jones, Malia (February 28, 2019). "How Redlining Continues To Shape Racial Segregation In Milwaukee" . Wiscontext . PBS Wisconsin/Wisconsin Public Radio.
^ "Germans" . Encyclopedia of Milwaukee . Retrieved January 11, 2023 .
^ "Extraordinary building boom is reshaping Milwaukee's skyline" . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved March 21, 2017 .
^ McLaughlin, Katherine (June 26, 2024). "The 17 Most Beautiful Skylines in the World" . Architectural Digest . Retrieved July 3, 2024 .
^ "First Look: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's Bradley Symphony Center" . OnMilwaukee . March 25, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021 .
^ "The World According to GaWC 2020" . GaWC – Research Network . Globalization and World Cities. Retrieved August 31, 2020 .
^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI (MSA)" . fred.stlouisfed.org . January 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022 .
^ Yu, Isaac. "Is Summerfest in Milwaukee really the world's largest music festival? Here's how it stacks up against Coachella, Lollapalooza and others" . Journal Sentinel . Retrieved January 11, 2023 .
^ Dill, Molly (May 21, 2018). "Wisconsin has 9 companies on 2018 Fortune 500 list" . biztimes.com . Milwaukee Business News. Retrieved March 7, 2021 .