Why Live And Work In Central Wisconsin, Marshfield?
Employment
Why Live and Work in Central Wisconsin?
Walking around, people are friendly. Driving around, 60 seconds of extra travel time is a “severe” traffic jam.
We have the amenities needed without the negatives found in big cities. Plenty of open space, retail, delicious restaurants, nature out your back door and access to world class education and healthcare.
Fancy Schmancy Awards And Press
Forbes Magazine ranked Marshfield the 5th best city in America to raise a family in (2012). Neighboring Stevens Point was ranked 7th. This region is a rare gem.
Also, Demographic Daily ranked Marshfield 8th in Top 20 American Dreamtowns. There’s also a laundry list for our school system, though I only included a few further down.
Nature
Wisconsin has 15,000 lakes and 5.7 million acres of public parks, forests, trails and more. Marshfield is the, “City in the Center” of all that, with the Great North Woods at your fingertips. Not to mention Marshfield’s 19 parks, including a 100+ acre free zoo. My personal favorite are the prairie dogs, especially when they do their little surprised chirp back flips. Alright, maybe they just topple over backwards, they’re not that acrobatic.
Local Parks & Recreation
Auto Race Track: 1
Bowling: 24 lanes
Indoor Movies: 7
Tennis Courts: 24
18 Hole Golf Courses: 2
Miniature Golf: 1
Ice Skating Rink: 1
Hockey Rink: 1
Disc Golf Courses: 3
Soccer Fields: 11
Escape Room: 1
Mall: 1
Curling Rink: 1
Pickle Ball Courts: 4
Baseball Fields: 5
Softball Fields: 3
Swimming Pools: 3
Sportsman Club: 1
Trap & Skeet Club: 1
YMCA: 1
Parks: 20
County Parks: 5
Skate Park: 1
Roller Rink: 1
Horse Shoe Pits: 13
Bike trails: 20+ miles
Zoo: 1
And much more
Plus thousands of local public acres for:
Hunting
Hiking
Camping
Fishing
Sailing
Cross Country Skiing
Snowmobiling
ATVing
Wildwood Zoo, photo taken by Susan Wendlandt.
Dining
Marshfield is a white collar medical town with a large concentration of manufacturing. In short, people tend to be well off which means there has to be plenty of great dining (and retail) options to support such a population.
Our short list of favorites are Blue Heron Brew Pub, El Mezcal, Royal Tokyo, Nutz Deep II (best burger in town), World Buffet, Daily Grind (coffee shop and Breakfast/Lunch), Libby McNeill’s (inside Marshfield Hotel), Kitchen Table (much is even homegrown), Lumberyard Bar & Grill and MoJo’s Pasta House.
Source: Marshfield Clinic
Health
The three cities in Wisconsin that have the largest medical complexes are Milwaukee (pop. 600,000), Madison (pop. 250,000) and Marshfield (pop. 19,000). We have a regional clinic/hospital that services Central to Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
As for enjoyable exercise, there are over 25 miles of bike trails. For list and map click here.
See more on health from the local Chamber.
Winter Wonderland. Source: Marshfield News Herold
Standard of Living
The region has a solid economy with a low cost of living, something of a rare combination. A new Hastreiter Industries employee, originally from Chicago, said he was surprised just how far his pay check goes here.
Central Wisconsin’s cost of living ranked below average for housing, misc. goods & services, grocery items, transportation and utilities (American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association 2015). Healthcare is the only category that ranked above average in cost and we tackled that through our combination of benefits with Astia, a subscription based clinic and company sponsored health insurance. See more here.
Nor do we have a population of millions for big-city lovers. For the rest of us it means short commutes, safe and friendly neighborhoods for the family, fresh air, bountiful nature, and more. We also have plenty of restaurants and retail, and on occasion we go for a drive to find more.
My family suggested I rent first until I figure out which parts of Marshfield are the nice parts and which are the bad parts. Driving around, I couldn’t find any bad parts!
— A Hastreiter employee, after moving from Milwaukee
Education
US News ranked Marshfield High School number three in the state in 2013 while the Washington Post ranked the Marshfield High School the second most challenging school in Wisconsin. The High School offers over two dozen AP college credit classes and nearly as many classes that give Technical College credits through the full engineering and tech. ed. programs. The school even has a full auto shop and more. Last I checked, the course catalog was an incredible 67 pages in length. The elementary system is top notch as well. Marshfield also has fantastic private schools such as the Columbus Catholic School System and additional Lutheran schools.
9/10 Mid-State Technical College graduates find jobs in their field within 6 months, while we also have a 2 year college, the University of Wisconsin Marshfield/Wood County (part of University of Wisconsin Stevens Point).
See more on education at the local Chamber.
I grew up in the country side near Marshfield. Sometimes we simply take things for granted, which I realized once I left for college and especially while living abroad. The city, its countryside and the entirety of Wisconsin is truly is something I love, its a place I call home for both my actual family and my company family. I personally believe that our spouses and children come first before company and careers; which is why I recognize that you might not be just evaluating applying just for the career opportunity but also for your family. Moving is a huge decision, which is why I want to provide you the information and insight about our region.
I admit Wisconsin has a perception problem; when asked people comment on cheese, beer, Packers and sometimes cold weather. Personally, I love having 4 distinct seasons. And we are a lot more than cheese and beer, though we are known for those for good reasons. I encourage you to consider this area and apply to an open position at Hastreiter Industries. And no, Marshfield was not founded on a marsh. Though the McMillan Wildlife Area does have a few marshes, it is one mile outside of town with 6,500 acres for hiking, biking, hunting, canoeing, cross-country skiing, berry picking and wildlife/bird watching .
-Kylan Hastreiter, Vice President
Downtown Marshfield, Wisconsin
I can only fit so much in one website page, so check out Wisconsin’s official tourist website: Travel Wisconsin
