City of Houghton Beautification Committee
The Copper Country’s economy has seen steady and sustainable growth in the past five years. KEDA Executive Director Jeff Ratcliffe says the base economy made up of manufacturers, technology companies and small businesses, that sustained the region after mining and forestry declined, drives the region’s growth. While attracting visitors, remote workers, and inspiring young people to build lives in the Keweenaw Peninsula, build on top of an existing economy.
It’s not overwhelming our economy, but it’s growing. And again, these are small companies. They are very technology-heavy and oriented. They’re creating jobs. These aren’t companies that are creating hundreds of jobs at a time. But we’ve had two recent expansions of which each one is creating 40-some jobs uh over the next couple of years. – Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance
Calumet Electronics, Orbion Space Technology, Locust, Engineering, Steelhead Technologies, and GS Engineering, to name a few of the local technology companies, work in niche fields that tie into national and international economies.
While local manufacturers and technology companies have local employees. Some residents might work in the same or similar industry, but for a company further away. Remote Workforce Keweenaw Kieth Meyers says since about 2020 he’s tracked close to 230 remote workers in the Keweenaw Peninsula.
I’d say upwards of 60% of the remote workers that I’ve accounted for are in some way, or form in information technology fields. You know, whether they’re software engineers or cyber security experts, the kind of work they do kind of works well with the whole concept of being in a remote setting. And so that’s worked out well. And for the Keweenaw, that’s important because a lot of those people earn what I would consider very robust salaries. – Kieth Meyers, Remote Workforce Keweenaw
Meyers adds it’s difficult to track remote workers in the region without networking or community events. Remote work can often isolate a person, limiting the time they might spend outside of the home or home office. Making public events, leisure amenities and third spaces important to bringing new residents into the fold of communities.
A large employer and center of activity in the city of Houghton revolves around Michigan Technological University. And the university’s influences ripple out to nearby communities when students explore their nine-month home. Ratcliffe says Michigan Tech has an attractive product, and the Copper Country sometimes inspires students to stay here to build careers.
Michigan Tech has a very unique product, and it’s highly sought after. Its education is highly sought after, but the students that come here also come here knowing that they’re moving to this area that has this great outdoor recreation economy. And it helps bring them (here). We are finding Michigan Tech students from outside of the area that after four years, if they can find a job here, they will stay. – Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance
Ratcliffe adds sometimes those careers turn into companies. Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear in Hancock was started by Nathan Ackerman and Andrew Gongas. Who met in college and built a small manufacturer out of a shared passion for hiking and camping. The MTEC SmartZone has also helped companies such as Orbion Space Technology get started as well. Alumni, who grew up in the region and who earned degrees with Michigan Technological University, or other regional institutions, go on to apply skills from campus in the Upper Peninsula’s communities as business owners, managers, municipal leaders, nurses and teachers.
Ratcliffe says tourism’s impact on the Copper Country’s economy is a nice addition to what the manufacturers, university, and tech companies bring to the region. After the covid pandemic, visitation to Isle Royale National Park continued its growth in popularity. In 2024, a University of Michigan Economic Growth study commissioned to look at visitor spending trends in the Keweenaw Peninsula’s estimated in 2023 the region surpassed more than 2,000,000 visitors. Visit Keweenaw’s tourism statistics portal estimates visitors spent $115 million at lodging, restaurants, experiences, and transportation in 2024.
Visit Keweenaw’s Brad Barnett adds that in recent years many organizations and communities have expanded recreation opportunities. Small businesses also keep innovating to include visitors and residents within their customer base. Those improvements often include upgrading infrastructure and planning.
In the state of Michigan, the priority is to grow our population. And so, tourism is that first date for someone who is thinking about moving to a new area or maybe it’s just a place that they had never thought about living. But when they came here and they saw all the amazing amenities, whether it’s the great ski hills that we have in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Or the great trails or rich history and culture, they fall in love with it. And they say, well, maybe one day. – Brad Barnett Executive Director Visit Keweenaw
In 2024 Houghton was awarded the Michigan Municipal League’s Community Excellence Award. Neguanee in the central Upper Peninsula kept the award in the region for 2025. Calumet has also earned praise from state leaders for its work to restore many old buildings and ability to attract development. Hancock earned Redevelopment Ready Community status from the MEDC in 2022 after Houghton joined the program in 2021. Laurium has even considered elevating the village’s status to a city. Village Manager Ian Lewis has said that initiative was paused when the DPW garage caught fire. However, the village has already begun work to build a new facility. Communities working on zoning or master plans, Ratcliffe says, have begun planning for future needs such as infrastructure, housing, public services, and amenities.
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