Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels
“It’s a good and bad thing.” That was Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels’ reaction to learning that the 54220 ZIP code is the least expensive area to live in, at least according to information from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
Nickels said it is a bad thing because it means the housing market in the area hasn’t really kept up with the rest of the state, however, “You look at our housing stock, you realize that homes are flying off the market as quickly as they go up…and they are going for higher than assessed price.” The report also indicated that the population of the area had declined between 2010 and 2019 due to several major companies packing up their operations.
Nickels admitted that was the case, but “Recently…we have seen quite the uptick in smaller, homegrown businesses here in Manitowoc growing and new businesses coming to our community.” Nickels has voiced his excitement for what the future holds in this area several times before and again stated “I’m excited for the next 10 years in the City of Manitowoc. I think we are going to see population growth…people moving into the community, and people who left Manitowoc come back.”
