Milwaukee Facts

Facts about Milwaukee

• Milwaukee got its name from the Indian word, Millioke, which means:
  “Meeting place of good water”
• Natives first arrived in the area 500 years before the Golden Age of Greece
• Ningbo China and Milwaukee are sister cities
• Heilongjiang has been Wisconsin's sister province/state for over 30 years 
• Milwaukee had a population of 300 natives when the first whites arrived in 1674 led by Jesuit missionary Father Jacques Marquette
• As early as 1850, almost two-thirds of the city's residents were foreign born, and by 1890, Milwaukee was considered the most "foreign" city in the United States.
• Thirteen Milwaukee-area companies are among the Fortune 500 largest publicly held companies
• Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin, the 25th largest city in the nation
• City of Milwaukee population (2007): 573,358
• Milwaukee Metro area (2007): 1.7 million

• Average commute time: 22 minutes, among U.S. major cities’ lowest
• Milwaukee’s 11-day “Big Gig” known as Summerfest is the largest music festival in the world
• Started in 1968, Summerfest now has an annual attendance of more than one million people
• The Milwaukee area's standard-of-living is one of the highest in the country, 12 percent higher than the national average
• Milwaukee is safe. Of the nation's 45 largest metropolitan areas, Milwaukee had the 11th lowest violent crime rate in 2005, according to the FBI
• Milwaukee is often referred to as Cream City. In the 1830's builders used clay from the shores of Lake Michigan. After being formed into a brick and fired, the bricks turn yellow.
• Milwaukee has had three Socialist mayors: Emil Siedel served from 1910-1912, Dan Hoan from 1914-1938, and Frank Zeidler from 1948-1960
• Temperatures range from an average high of 54 degrees (Fahrenheit) in the spring, 79 degrees in the summer, 59 degrees in the fall, and 31 degrees in the winter.
• Average rainfall is 30 inches
• The area receives 47 inches of snowfall, equal to about 5 inches of rain
• Nearly 65 million people, or one-fourth of the U.S. population, live within 600 miles of Milwaukee
• The Port of Milwaukee handles more than 3 million tons of commerce annually and is a principal export site for heavy machinery, food, leather, and lumber
• Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport is rated the third best airport in the nation by frequent flyers
• The first workable typewriter was invented in Milwaukee in 1867
• Over 5 million tourists visit Milwaukee every year