The economy of Door County is similar to that of Bayfield, Iron, Oneida, Sawyer, and Vilas counties. These six northern Wisconsin counties have been categorized as having "forestry-related tourism"-based economies.Clustering Wisconsin Counties for Analytical Comparisons by Martin Shields and Steven C. Deller, CCED Staff Paper # 96.7, October 1996, pp. 11 and 16 (pp. 13 and 19 of the pdf)
By sector Gross domestic product
An analysis comparing 1999 data for select Wisconsin counties found that Door County was especially strong in the retail of building and materials, groceries, apparel and accessories, miscellaneous retail, and restaurants. For services, it ranked strong in amusement, movie, and recreation and lodging. Door County ran a fiscal surplus in all categories to all other counties, with the exception of furniture & home furnishing, in which Door County had a leakage of sales to other counties.Trade Area Analysis of Select Wisconsin Counties by Steven C. Deller, August 2001, Staff Paper No. 428, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Staff Paper Series. Archived January 17, 2020 In January 2021, there were 1,263 private establishments for all industries put together, up from 919 establishments in January 1990, but down from a peak of 1,314 establishments in September 2005.Number of Private Establishments for All Industries in Door County, WI , Federal Reserve Economic Data, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
In 2020, the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the county in 2020 dollars was $1.39 billion, a 1.9% decrease from $1.42 billion in 2019. Out of 3,091 counties and county-level equivalents for which figures were available in 2020, Door County had the 1,297th largest economy. In 2019, the county's economy ranked 1,306th out of 3,090 counties. The per-capita GDP in 2020 was $46,370.
The largest out of fifteen different industry sector categories by total GDP generated was finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing at $299 million, which accounted for 21.4% of the overall GDP. This sector was divided into two subsectors. Real estate and rental and leasing accounted for 18.7% of the county's GDP at $260 million, while finance and insurance accounted for 2.8% of the county's GDP at $38 million. The real estate and rental and leasing subsector declined 4.8 percent from 2019 to 2020, while manufacturing increased 0.2% to $274 million. Together, this resulted in manufacturing outpacing and overtaking real estate and rental and leasing in 2020 to become the county's leading individual subsector that year at 19.7% of the county's overall GDP.
Door County was one of 53 Wisconsin counties where manufacturing was a larger industry than real estate and rental and leasing. In 18 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, real estate and rental and leasing was larger than manufacturing. In Waushara County, figures for manufacturing were redacted in 2020 and it is not possible to determine which subsector was larger.
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. By 2020, the subsector grew to $210 million in chained 2012 dollars, for an increase of 12.9% over 19 years and an average of 0.68% growth each year.CAGDP9: Real GDP in Chained Dollars by County and MSA , 2001–2020, Regional Economic Accounts, 2020, Bureau of Economic Analysis Using non-inflation-adjusted dollars, the sector gained 69.0% over the 19 years from 2001 to 2020, for an average annual gain of 3.6%.CAGDP2: GDP in Current Dollars by County and MSA , Regional Economic Accounts, 2020, Bureau of Economic Analysis
2020 Door County GDP by category in non-inflation adjusted 2020 dollars
Taxable sales From 2020, Wisconsin Department of Revenue figures, the five largest annual sources of taxable sales were motor vehicle and parts dealers, food services and drinking places, accommodation, nonstore retailers, and building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers. Together they together accounted for 47.3% of all taxable sales in the county.
From 2019 to 2020, Department of Revenue figures, the total value of all taxable rental and leasing services in the county increased 18.8% in non-inflation adjusted, current-year dollars, while the total value of all taxable real estate sold in the county decreased 20.0% during the same time period. Only three areas had a greater percent decrease than real estate that year. Taxable telecommunications sales decreased 24.7%, but this was a result of a legal change which eliminated certain taxes. Taxable computer and electronic product manufacturing sales decreased by 23.8% and taxable machinery manufacturing sales decreased by 22.8%. The largest increases in taxable sales was seen in transportation equipment manufacturing, which gained 203.7%, professional, scientific, and technical services, which gained 90.0%, and nonstore retailers, which gained 80.6%.Monthly Taxable Sales Reported on Sales/Use Tax Returns by County, Wisconsin Department of Revenue, flat table for Door County (archived September 12, 2021)
Real estate Housing cost and supply
Between 2000 and 2017, prices for houses in Door County rose only 1.3% annually, less than the U.S. average of 2.5%.Door County Housing Analysis from the Door County Economic Development Corporation, January 25, 2019 The price of houses in the county increased 178% from January 1986 to January 2020.All-Transactions House Price Index for Door County, WI , Federal Reserve Economic Data, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis compared to a 235% increase for the state as a whole.All-Transactions House Price Index for Wisconsin , Federal Reserve Economic Data, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Median home price in the county for 2021 was $315,000, with the highest sale volume since at least the 1970s.Median Home Price Booms by Bob Dolan, Peninsula Pulse, January 26, 2022
According to the 2000 census, 6,201 housing units (30.7%) in the county were built before 1950, 6,580 units (33.6%) were built between 1950 and 1979, and 6,806 units (35.7%) were built between 1980 and 2000, for a total of 19,587 housing units.Data Explorer , National Center for Environmental Health, National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Wisconsin: 2000 Population and Housing Unit Counts, Table 2. Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000, page 2 (page 44 of the pdf), US Census Bureau, Issued August 2003 (Archived January 20, 2022) From 2000 through January 1, 2020, 5,561 new private housing structures have been authorized by building permits. Building permits for new housing structures peaked in 1999 with 527 permits issued and have since declined, with 139 permits issued in 2020.New Private Housing Structures Authorized by Building Permits for Door County, WI , Federal Reserve Economic Data, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis In 2006, nonresidents paid about 60% of the property taxes in the northern half of the county.The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin: Findings, Recommendations, Steps to a Healthy Future by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, p. 100 According to the 2020 census, there were 23,738 housing units in the county. Of these, 13,989 (58.9%) were occupied and 9,749 (41.1%) were vacant.Housing Occupancy in Door County, Wisconsin , US Census Bureau, accessed September 26, 2021 According to 2019, ACS five-year estimates, 46.9% of the housing units in the county were vacant, compared to 12.4% for the state as a whole.Vacancy Rate in Door County, Wisconsin and Vacancy Rate in Wisconsin , US Census Bureau, accessed September 26, 2021 In 1960 there were 4,715 cottages or second homes in the county.The Green Bay Watershed: Past/Present/Future by Gerard Bertrand, Jean Lang, and John Ross, Technical Report #229, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant College Program January 1976, Chapter 10: Recreation, Section 1: Recreation Areas of Green Bay, page 232
As residential and commercial land tend to require more government services than the property taxes they generate, these zones are subsidized by taxes on industrial, agricultural, and open lands. 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. The demand for real estate in the county increased property prices, which in turn raised property assessments. Development pressure made some feel compelled to subdivide and sell their land, and the rising cost of taxes caused some to develop their land against their wishes."A Paradigm Case in Land Use Ethics: Door County, Wisconsin" by Robert Florence, Door County Planner, in Ethics for Environment: Three Religious Strategies . Proceedings of a National Conference (University of Wisconsin—Green Bay, June 11–13, 1973), edited by Dave Steffenson, Walter J. Herrscher, and Robert S. Cook, page 75, page 81 of the pdf One seller was quoted in 1986 with this reflection: "I really don't have much choice but to sell it – I just can't keep up with it any more. If I don't sell it, I'm afraid my land valuation is going to go so high that I'll be taxed off of it anyhow.""We don't own this land" by Marty Gureski, in Conversations on Door County by Dave Crehore, Wisconsin Natural Resources, May–June 1986, Volume 10, Number 3, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, page 33 From 2006 to 2021, the increase in equalized value in real-dollar amounts was 85.7% for manufacturing, 45.8% for undeveloped land, 25% for productive forest, 10.59% for agricultural, and 19.2% for agricultural forest.Equalized Values , WI DOR - Division of Research and Policy, public.tableau.com, accessed September 19, 2021
Shoreline development
As of 2011, 7,889 residential buildings were located in within a of the shore, some which form strip developments enclosing scenic areas.Door County Board of Supervisors Comprehensive Planning Program, assisted by the Wisconsin Department of Resource Development, 1964, page 159 Out of miles of county shoreline along Lake Michigan and Green Bay surveyed in 2012, was developed for low-density residential use, for medium-density residential use, for commercial use, and for high-density residential use. was undeveloped forest and was located in parks. Out of the entire area surveyed, of the shore was replaced with artificial surfaces and was surrounded by manicured lawns. By 2012, , or 78.7% of the of total shoreline surveyed was developed, an increase from 1964 when only had been developed.Door County Board of Supervisors Comprehensive Planning Program, assisted by the Wisconsin Department of Resource Development, 1964, page 63