Tourism Insights
The health of our community depends on a strong tourism economy
Driven by leisure and convention business, direct visitor spending in Milwaukee County in 2024 grew 4.1% year-over-year, surpassing the domestic inflation rate by 2.3% and contributing $2.439 billion to the local economy. The Greater Milwaukee area set another all-time tourism spending record with a $6.632 billion total economic impact in 2024, according to data released by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
(Economic impact data is provided by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism and updated annually. Last updated: June 2025.)
In 2024 in Milwaukee County:
- Direct visitor spending totaled $2.439 billion – up 4.1% from 2023
- Tourism supported 28,091 full-time jobs – up 3.2% from 2023
- Labor Income from tourism totaled $1.402 billion – up 3.4% from 2023
- State and local taxes generated from tourism totaled $242.2 million – up 4.8% from 2023
- Total business sales because of tourism totaled $4.321 billion – up 3.7% from 2023
In the four-county Greater Milwaukee area:
- Direct visitor spending totaled $3.676 billion - up 4% from 2023
- Tourism supported 45,208 full-time jobs - up 3% from 2023
- Labor income from tourism totaled $2.086 billion - up 3% from 2023
- State and local taxes generated from tourism totaled $369 million - up 4% from 2023
- Total business sales because of tourism in the Greater Milwaukee area totaled $6.632 billion – up 4% from 2023
According to 2024 data from Tourism Economics, a typical Milwaukee County visitor stays 1.1 days, 68.9% of visitors stay overnight and 62.1% are repeat trips. The majority (59.7%) of visitors traveled between 50 and 199 miles to Milwaukee, and the most common place of origin for visitors is metropolitan Chicago (20.3%), though 2024 marked a year for growth in key out-of-state markets, including Minneapolis-St. Paul and Des Moines, Iowa, all of which are major target markets for Visit Milwaukee's marketing efforts.
Top 10 visitor origin states in 2024:
- Wisconsin 27.9%
- Illinois 24.5%
- Iowa 7.8%
- Minnesota 3.5%
- Michigan 3.5%
- Missouri 3.5%
- Indiana 3.1%
- Texas 2.7%
- Ohio 2.1%
- Florida 2.0%
Top 10 visitor origin metropolitan areas in 2024:
- Chicago, IL 20.3%
- Green Bay-Appleton 11.4%
- Madison 8.7%
- Des Moines-Ames, IA 4.3%
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 3.5%
- Wausau-Rhinelander 2.7%
- Milwaukee 2.5%
- Rockford, IL 2.2%
- La Crosse-Eau Claire 2.1%
- St. Louis, MO 2.0%
The Value of Tourism in Milwaukee
Since 1967, Visit Milwaukee has been working with over 1000 local and regional businesses to make our community a better place to live, work and play. Because of that, Milwaukee’s tourism industry delivers a variety of economic and quality-of-life benefits, including:
- Job Creation: The tourism industry is a major source of employment in the Greater Milwaukee area, sustaining over 45,200 people and offering a path to economic advancement.
- Visitor Spending: In 2024, visitor spending in the Greater Milwaukee area was $3.676 billion. Much of that spending went to support the city’s hotels, restaurants and bars.
- Tax Generation: In 2024, tourism in Milwaukee County generated $242.2 million in tax revenue, offsetting the taxes Milwaukeeans would otherwise have to make up for.
Visitor Insights
Visit Milwaukee gains insight into visitors’ travel patterns, origin markets, hotel stays, media preferences and more using data from Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company that is a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis. Review the monthly summary here:
Tourism Toolkit
Find everything you wanted to know about Milwaukee using these fact sheets, complete with everything from the number of hotel rooms in the Greater Milwaukee area to the square footage of beachfront along the city's shoreline.
2024 End-of-Year Hotel Performance
2024 hotel performance figures are based on STR report data. STR is a trusted resource designed to help benchmark the hotel industry and glean visitor insights for destinations around the globe.
Occupancy: 59.1%
Last Year: 58%
Percent Change: 1.8%
Average Daily Rate (ADR): $173.05
Last Year: $164.62
Percent Change: 5.1%
Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR): $102.29
Last Year: $95.47
Percent Change: 7.0%
Demand: 1,400,000
Last Year: 1,308,221
Percent Change: 3.7%
Revenue: $233,800,000
Last Year: $215,360,996
Percent Change: 8.9%
Occupancy: 55.9%
Last Year: 56.8%
Percent Change: -1.5%
Average Daily Rate (ADR): $140.27
Last Year: $133.38
Percent Change: 4.7%
Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR): $78.45
Last Year: $75.75
Percent Change: 3.1%
Demand: 2,850,000
Last Year: 2,811,593
Percent Change: 0.8%
Revenue: $393,700,000
Last Year: $374,998,517
Percent Change: 5.5%
Occupancy: 63%
Last Year: 62.4%
Percent Change: 0.6%
Average Daily Rate (ADR): $155.62
Last Year: $151.32
Percent Change: 4.3%
Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR): $97.97
Last Year: $93
Percent Change: 4.9%
How Does Visitor Spending Directly Impact Milwaukeeans?
In the Greater Milwaukee area, tourism supported over 45,200 full-time jobs and it generated over $369 million in state and local taxes, which means every household has $880 back in their pockets thanks to tourism. That’s like a new washing machine for every household or one ticket to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour.
It Starts With a Visit
Every new Milwaukee resident started off as a visitor to the Good Land, exploring the city and enjoying everything that the Cream City has to offer. A great place to visit is also a great place to live, work and run a business. When we succeed in our mission of growing tourism, it's a step toward making our entire community stronger.
Tourism Matters in MKE
Milwaukee's hospitality workers are an essential part of our community, the friendly frontline ambassadors and knowledgeable go-to resources for visitors from around the globe. Listen to the stories of three members of the hospitality community about their career paths, what they love about the industry and the special place the city of Milwaukee has in their hearts.
Things to Do in Wisconsin's Largest City
Take a visit to Milwaukee and uncover all of the city’s hidden gems! Go undercover at the Safehouse and sleep in an art museum at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel. Take a chance at Potawatomi Casino and soak up fun on the Fresh Coast at Bradford Beach. Cheer on the Brewers at American Family Field and take a ride through history at the Harley-Davidson Museum. Savor meals made with love at Twisted Plants and enjoy cocktails and cityscapes at The Outsider.
Explore More About the Cream City
