Milwaukee is a commercial and industrial hub for the Great Lakes region. Although the Milwaukee metro area’s economy was built on beer and manufacturing (as the locals say, "beers and gears"), the economy has diversified and been strengthened by a rapidly growing service sector. Milwaukee is dominated by small to medium firms in nearly every industrial sector. More than 93 percent of Milwaukee-area businesses employ fewer than 50 people. However, larger employers have been attracted to Milwaukee as well. More than 25 companies in the metro area have more than 2,500 employees, and thirteen Milwaukee-area companies are listed in Fortune Magazine's compilation of the nation's largest publicly-held companies, including Harley-Davidson, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation and Kohl's Corp. The Milwaukee metropolitan area ranks fifth in the US in terms of the number of Fortune 500 company headquarters as a share of the population.

Manufacturing is still a strong component of the Milwaukee economy. The metropolitan area places it among the top manufacturing centers in the US, ranking second among major metropolitan areas in the percentage of its workforce in manufacturing. However, the service sector (including health care, social assistance, retail trade, accommodation, food services, finance and insurance, which collectively are the area’s largest service-sector employers) has been the primary contributor to Milwaukee's economic growth in recent years, accounting for more than 80 percent of all non-farming jobs in the metro area. Health care positions account for about 27 percent of service sector jobs. Other major areas of service employment include business services (27 percent), educational services (seven percent) and social services (10 percent).

This is just a sample of what you'll find in the complete Milwaukee guide.