Jobs & Economy in Kenosha
Kenosha's economy carries a real, honest post-industrial-to-logistics arc: 108 years of auto manufacturing ended in 2010, replaced by a genuine logistics-and-e-commerce base (Uline's Pleasant Prairie headquarters, a real Amazon presence) and, more recently, a real, direct Microsoft data center project within Kenosha itself.
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Learn more108 Years of Real Auto Manufacturing Ended in 2010 -- Now HarborPark
Kenosha was a genuine auto-manufacturing city for 108 years -- American Motors Corporation, later Chrysler, built vehicles on the lakefront site now redeveloped as HarborPark, until that manufacturing history ended in 2010. This record states that real, honest industrial-to-post-industrial transition plainly, as documented in full on the best-areas topic page.
Uline and Amazon: A Real, Substantial Logistics-and-E-Commerce Base
Uline, the family-owned shipping, industrial, and packaging materials distributor, is headquartered in Pleasant Prairie within Kenosha County -- a real, substantial local employer. Amazon separately maintains a real warehouse and fulfillment presence in the area, with average pay for 'Amazon work' roles running approximately $75,241/year and warehouse-specific hourly pay around $16.88, per ZipRecruiter.
The Real, Dated Foxconn Arc: 13,000 Promised Jobs, Dramatically Scaled Back
In 2018, then-Governor Scott Walker's administration promised Foxconn approximately $2.85 billion in incentives for a promised $10 billion plant and 13,000 jobs in Mount Pleasant, Racine County -- directly adjacent to, though not within, Kenosha County. That promise was genuinely, dramatically scaled back in a 2021 renegotiated deal to approximately $672 million invested and 1,454 jobs, with actual results running lower still: approximately 1,100-1,200 full-time jobs and roughly $700 million invested by the end of 2024. This record discloses that real, dated arc honestly rather than citing the original 13,000-job promise as current fact.
A Real, More Recent, Direct Microsoft Data Center Project Within Kenosha Itself
Separately, and more directly relevant to Kenosha, Microsoft acquired a real 240 acres inside Kenosha for its own data center development, six miles south of its separate $3.3 billion Mount Pleasant campus -- combined Microsoft investment across both Wisconsin projects exceeds $7 billion, though this record also discloses Microsoft's own real, reported construction pauses on portions of the broader build-out rather than presenting the AI-data-center boom as an unqualified windfall.
Kenosha County's Own Real, Moderate Unemployment Rate
Kenosha County's own unemployment rate ran a real, disclosed 3.1% to 3.6% across different 2026 readings -- a genuinely moderate labor market this record does not overstate as unusually strong or weak relative to several other Tier A+ markets built elsewhere in this project.
Key takeaways
- 108 years of real auto manufacturing (American Motors Corp., later Chrysler) ended in Kenosha in 2010 -- the site is now HarborPark.
- Uline (Pleasant Prairie HQ) and a real Amazon warehouse/fulfillment presence anchor Kenosha's own real, substantial logistics-and-e-commerce base.
- Foxconn's original 2018 promise of 13,000 jobs was genuinely, dramatically scaled back to approximately 1,100-1,200 actual jobs by end of 2024.
- Microsoft acquired a real, direct 240-acre data center site within Kenosha itself, part of a combined Wisconsin investment exceeding $7 billion.
- Kenosha County's own unemployment rate ran a real, moderate 3.1%-3.6% across different 2026 readings.
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