Eau Claire WI Key Industries

Key Industries

Eau Claire, Wisconsin is a major regional center for retail, healthcare, manufacturing, education, technology. With a growing population, well-diversified economy, high-quality education system, and four business parks, the city is attractive location for both new and existing businesses.

Largest Industries

Industry	Employment
Retail Trade	8,953
Healthcare & Social Assistance	7,844
Manufacturing	5,346
Educational Services	2,991
Public Administration	2,890
Professional & Technical Services	2,212
Finance & Insurance	1,755
Administrative & Support Services	1,207
Construction	1,129
Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation	1,078
Transportation & Warehousing	765

Source: Esri Community Analytics Software (2024)

Major Private Employers

Employer	Employees
Menards	11,550
Mayo Clinic Health System	5,500
Eau Claire Area School District	1,400
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	1,275
Marshfield Clinic	1,026
Nestlé	999
City of Eau Claire	650
Eau Claire County	645
Chippewa Valley Technical College	592
Market & Johnson	350
Cascades Tissue Group	241

Source: City of Eau Claire (2024)

Top Sectors

The following industries are top employers in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and the greater Chippewa Valley.

Retail

A large private employment sector in Eau Claire is retail trade, employing over 10,000 people in stores alone and 3,000+ more in retail administration. This industry is anchored by the city’s status as a regional retail center and as the base of corporate operations and distribution for one of the largest home improvement chains in the United States.

Menards

The largest contributor to Eau Claire’s retail sector is also the city’s largest employer—Menards. Founded in 1960, the company employs over 4,500 people across its corporate offices, distribution center, and two stores. Menards is ranked by Forbes as the 33rd largest private company in the United States and operates over 300 stores in 14 states.

Large Retailers

The Eau Claire area serves as a major hub for retail activity in western Wisconsin. Many large chains are located in the city’s Oakwood Hills neighborhood specifically, including Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, and Best Buy. Elsewhere, the 2018 opening of Mills Fleet Farm along I- 94 and State Route 93 is a major addition to the retail landscape in a new area.

Oakwood Mall

Located near the junction of US Highway 53 and I-94, Oakwood Mall has been a major retail center in Eau Claire since 1986 and is the center of the Oakwood Hills commercial area. The mall is anchored by Scheel’s Sporting Goods, JC Penney, Hobby Lobby, and a locally-owned theater. Plus, it also features over 60 stores and 15 restaurants.

Healthcare

One of Eau Claire’s largest industries is healthcare, employing over 12,000 people. Two full-service hospitals and various smaller clinics make the city an attractive employer for medical professionals, and Eau Claire’s location makes it a natural choice for residents in surrounding communities when they need medical care.

Major Providers

Mayo Clinic Health System, headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, is a highly ranked national healthcare system with major hospitals in Rochester and Phoenix, Minnesota. Mayo Clinic operates two facilities in Eau Claire: its Luther Campus full-service hospital and Clairemont Campus, employing over 4,000 people in the area.

Marshfield Clinic is among the largest private health systems in the United States, with over 50 locations in northern, central, and western Wisconsin. In Eau Claire, Marshfield Clinic operates the Marshfield Medical Center Hospital, which opened in 2018, the Marshfield Cancer Center, and four smaller clinic facilities.

OakLeaf Medical Network is an institute run by over 175 independent healthcare providers who provide personalized care throughout western Wisconsin. OakLeaf operates OakLeaf Surgical Hospital in Altoona, as well as several clinics throughout Eau Claire.

Manufacturing

Centered in the city’s Gateway, Sky Park, and Chippewa Valley Industrial Parks, manufacturing plays a major role in the Eau Claire economy. The sector contains some of the area’s largest employers that combined provide about 10,000 well-paying jobs to skilled workers in the region.

Major Manufacturers

Nestlé

Nestlé is a major employer in Eau Claire that operates three facilities: along Truax Boulevard, in the Gateway Northwest Industrial Park, and in the Gateway West Industrial Park. The company manufacturers Gerber infant formula, Peptamen medical nutrition products, and Boost nutritional drinks.

Silver Spring Foods

Founded in 1929 and still based in Eau Claire, Silver Spring Foods is the world’s largest grower and producer of horseradish. The company now employs almost 200 people at its Gateway West Industrial Park facility and has since expanded to produce its own line of mustards, tartar sauce, and other condiments.

American Phoenix

American Phoenix started in 1992 after purchasing mixing equipment that was left in the former Uniroyal Tire Plant. The company now operates one of the largest custom rubber mixing plants in America and employs about 130 people at its Banbury Place plant near downtown Eau Claire.

Education

Education is also a large sector in the region that employs over 4,000 people across both Eau Claire’s school district and multiple colleges. The city’s educational facilities are a significant part of the area’s local economy and help to foster the region’s well-educated workforce.

Major Educators

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is one of the largest universities in Wisconsin, with enrollment of over 12,000 students. The university is consistently recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top five regional public universities in the Midwest.

Eau Claire is home to the largest campus of the Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) system, which serves an 11 county area in west-central Wisconsin. CVTC offers over 95 programs with a focus on employment readiness, and 93% of its graduates are employed within six months of graduation.

Technology

A high-growth industry in Eau Claire is technology development, which now employs over 2,000 professionals. Fields include software development, data analysis, and IT infrastructure support, as well as technological manufacturing.

Major Companies

Jamf

Jamf is an Apple management software company that was founded in Eau Claire in 2002. Now a global company, Jamf continues to operate a major customer support facility in Downtown Eau Claire and is one of three facilities with a significant software engineering presence.

Intel

IBM operates a research and development facility in Eau Claire, formerly a segment of Cray Research, which develops and tests high powered processors.