Stacker, a data-driven news content website, recently sifted through U.S. Census Bureau statistics to compile a list of the 50 Wisconsin counties with the highest percentage of residents born in the same county where they currently reside. As expected, Door County was nowhere to be found on that list.
Neighboring rural counties around the Bay of Green Bay made strong showings. Kewaunee County ranked fourth, with 85.1% of its current residents having been born there. Oconto County was third at 85.1%, and Shawano County claimed the second spot with 86.2%. Even Brown County, home to Green Bay and the largest urban center in Northeast Wisconsin, made the list at 39th, with 75.1% of its residents born within its borders.
Wisconsin has 72 counties, but Stacker only published the top 50. That leaves us without precise data for the rest of the state. However, I’d wager that Door County is near the bottom of that list. Door County is almost certainly unique in its high percentage of residents who were born elsewhere yet chose to make this place their home. That distinction is also the source of Door County’s vibrancy.
Choosing to relocate to a new community is an act of optimism. It means believing that the place you are moving to offers a better quality of life than the one you leave behind. That optimism is evident throughout Door County, especially in charitable giving.
Look at the lead donors who helped build Peninsula Players Theatre, construct the Northern Sky Theater campus, expand the YMCA, renovate Third Avenue Playworks, and bring us MUSE. The vast majority of philanthropic champions who shaped Door County’s cultural and civic landscape were born elsewhere.
New residents also bring fresh ideas from their former communities. Every time a new type of restaurant or service appears in Door County, it is often a response to demand from those who have relocated here. In what other rural Wisconsin county of fewer than 30,000 residents will you find an art school, world-class orchestral performances, multiple professional theater companies, and at least five restaurants serving sushi?
Yet these transplants don’t just contribute financially and culturally. They also lead some of Door County’s most essential institutions.
Julie Gilbert, president & CEO of Destination Door County, is entrusted with promoting our home to the world. She hails from Montana. Brian Stephens, CEO of Door County Medical Center, is responsible for ensuring the health of our residents. He’s from Texas. The Peninsula Pulse, our primary source of local news and information, was founded by Dave Eliot, a Massachusetts native. Michelle Lawrie, executive director of the Door County Economic Development Corporation, works to strengthen our local business environment. She’s from Arizona.
And then there’s me. I’m in my 18th year as president & CEO of the Door County Community Foundation, frequently writing about my love for this community, yet I was born and raised in ‘Aiea, Hawai’i.
None of this diminishes the contributions of lifelong locals. Some of the most passionate advocates for Door County have lived here their entire lives. I am privileged to work alongside several of them at the Community Foundation, and their love for this place runs just as deep, if not deeper, than my own.
Communities thrive when they strike a healthy balance between honoring the past and embracing new ideas. Door County has mastered that balance. Longtime residents provide the steady foundation upon which our community stands. They are the keepers of history, the stewards of our cultural identity, and the guardians of traditions that make this place unique. At the same time, newcomers inject fresh energy and ideas, bringing perspectives shaped by different experiences.
This interplay between tradition and innovation keeps Door County vibrant. Without its deeply rooted families, we would lose the sense of continuity and history that binds us together. Without new residents, we would risk stagnation, missing opportunities to evolve and grow. When these two forces come together, the result is a dynamic, thriving community where respect for the past fuels a vision for the future.
The charm of Door County does not lie solely in its scenic beauty or its thriving arts scene but in the people who call it home – those who have always been here and those who have chosen to come. That is what makes Door County so extraordinary.
Bret Bicoy is President & CEO of the Door County Community Foundation. Contact him at [email protected]