Appleton, Wisconsin | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Appleton viewed from theFox River | |
 Location of Appleton in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties, Wisconsin | |
  Appleton  Appleton | |
| Coordinates:44°16′N88°24′W / 44.267°N 88.400°W /44.267; -88.400 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Wisconsin |
| Counties | Outagamie,Calumet,Winnebago |
| Settled | 1847 |
| Incorporated | 1853 (village) 1857 (city) |
| Named after | Samuel Appleton |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Mayor | Jake Woodford[2] |
| Area | |
• City | 25.29 sq mi (65.49 km2) |
| • Land | 24.79 sq mi (64.20 km2) |
| • Water | 0.50 sq mi (1.29 km2) 1.97% |
| Elevation | 790 ft (240 m) |
| Population | |
• City | 75,644[1] |
| • Rank | 6th in Wisconsin |
| • Density | 2,989.2/sq mi (1,154.12/km2) |
| • Urban | 230,967 (US:171st)[4] |
| • Urban density | 2,143/sq mi (827/km2) |
| • Metro | 243,147 (US:194th) |
| Demonym | Appletonians[6] |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code | 54911, 54912, 54913, 54914, 54915, 54919 |
| Area code | 920 |
| FIPS code | 55-02375[7] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1560914[8] |
| Major airport | Appleton International Airport (ATW) |
| Major Routes |    |
| Public Transit |  |
| Website | www |
Appleton (Menominee:Ahkōnemeh) is thecounty seat ofOutagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending intoCalumet andWinnebago counties. Located on theFox River north ofLake Winnebago, it is 30 miles (48 km) southwest ofGreen Bay and 100 miles (160 km) north ofMilwaukee. The city had a population of 75,644 at the2020 census, making it thesixth-most populous city in Wisconsin. The Appletonmetropolitan statistical area had 243,147 residents. Appleton is part of the broaderFox Cities region.
Appleton was founded in the mid-19th century and developed as a prominent industrial and educational hub, notably with the establishment ofLawrence University in 1847. Its economy has historically been anchored inpaper manufacturing and has diversified into retail and healthcare, withSt. Elizabeth Hospital andThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton in the city. It is a cultural center of the Fox River Valley, highlighted by institutions such as theFox Cities Performing Arts Center andHistory Museum at the Castle, which celebrates local heritage and figures like magicianHarry Houdini. It also hosts regional events such asOctoberfest[10] and theMile of Music.
The territory where Appleton is today was formerly occupied by theHo-Chunk and theMenominee. The Menominee Nation ceded the territory to the United States in theTreaty of the Cedars in 1836.[12] In the Menominee language, Appleton is known asAhkōnemeh, or "watches for them place".[13]
The first European settlers in Appleton were fur traders seeking to do business with Fox River ValleyNative Americans. Hippolyte Grignon built the White Heron in 1835 to house his family and serve as an inn and trading post.[14]
Appleton was settled in 1847. It was founded as three unincorporated villages along the Fox River. From south to north along the river, these wereGrand Chute, Appleton, andLawesburg. In 1853, the three were merged into the single incorporated Village of Appleton. John F. Johnston was the first resident and village president.Lawrence University, also founded in 1847, was backed financially byAmos A. Lawrence and originally known as the Lawrence Institute.Samuel Appleton, Lawrence's father-in-law fromNew England who never visited Wisconsin, donated $10,000 to the newly founded college library, and the town took his name in appreciation.[15][16][17]
The paper industry, beginning with the building of the first paper mill in the city in 1853, has been at the forefront of the development of Appleton. In order to provide electricity to the paper industry, the nation's first hydro-electric central station, theVulcan Street Plant on theFox River, began operation on September 30, 1882. The power plant also powered theHearthstone House, the first residence in the world powered by a centrally locatedhydroelectricstation using theEdison system.[18]
Shortly thereafter, in August 1886, Appleton was the site for another national first, the operation of a commercially successful electricstreetcar company. Electric lights replaced gas lamps on College Avenue in 1912. Appleton also had the firsttelephone in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent light in any city outside of theEast Coast.[19]
The community was incorporated as a city on March 2, 1857,[20] with Amos Story as its first mayor. Early in the 20th century, it adopted thecommission form of government. In 1890, 11,869 people lived in Appleton; in 1900, there were 15,085; in 1910, 16,773; in 1920, 19,571; and in 1940, 28,436.
Significant annexations to the city, taken from theTown of Grand Chute, were performed in the next two decades. The first, the "Glendale" district, was completed on November 8, 1941, growing Appleton north past Glendale Avenue.[21] Another became official on December 22, 1950, after multi-year disputes, when the unincorporated villages ofBell Heights andWhispering Pines were annexed into the city from Grand Chute.[22] Bell Heights added new area to the northwest edge of Appleton, and Whispering Pines, to the northeast, would include land whereAppleton Memorial Hospital would later be built. Bell Heights and Whispering Pines increased the population of the city by ten percent, and its area by twenty percent, overnight.[22]
Appleton's tallest building, the222 Building was built in 1952.[23] TheValley Fair Shopping Center, built in 1954, laid claim to being the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States, although this claim is disputed by other malls. In 2007 most of the structure was demolished, leaving only its east wing. APick 'n Save Food Center now stands in its place.
From approximately 1930–1970, Appleton was asundown town:black people were not allowed to stay overnight,[24] and none lived within its city limits by 1930.[25] In 1936, theInstitute of Paper Chemistry tried to hire the famous African-American chemistPercy Julian, but could not figure out how to do this without running afoul of what was stated as "an arcane law on the City of Appleton's books".[26] A fight over Julian's employment ensued, and he was hired byGlidden in Chicago instead.[27][26] Appleton's sundown status was largelyde facto and notde jure; it stood by unwritten consensus and enforcement, such as by police strongly encouraging black people to leave town after dark.[25] A partial exception was made for opera singerMarian Anderson when she sang at Lawrence University in 1941; she was allowed to stay overnight in the Conway Hotel, but even then was not allowed to eat dinner in public.[28]
Following theFlint water crisis, a report of WisconsinRust Belt cities showed high levels of lead contamination in the water of Appleton, with children under the age of 1 testing positive for lead. With a state average of 1.9 per 100 for this age group, Appleton tested at 4.5 per 100 for the same age group.[29]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.82 square miles (64.28 km2), of which, 24.33 square miles (63.01 km2) is land and 0.49 square miles (1.27 km2) is water.[30]
Appleton has ahumid continental climate typical of Wisconsin. Summers are warm to hot and winters are rather cold in comparison. Precipitation is relatively moderate compared to other areas close to theGreat Lakes, which means lesser snowfall in winter than in many other cold areas.
Adew point of 90 °F (32 °C) was observed at Appleton at 5 p.m. on July 13, 1995. This is tied for the secondhighest dew point ever observed in the United States and coincides with the1995 Chicago heat wave.
Being inland fromLake Michigan, Appleton is prone to temperature extremes. The hottest temperature recorded was 107 °F (42 °C) during the 1936Dust Bowl and the coldest was −32 °F (−36 °C) in 1929.[31] The coldest maximum on record is −20 °F (−29 °C) set in 1994 and the warmest minimum being 82 °F (28 °C) in 1912.[31] On average, the coldest maximum temperature of the year during the normals between 1991 and 2020 was at a frigid 1 °F (−17 °C) and the warmest minimum averaged 73 °F (23 °C).[31]
| Climate data for Appleton, Wisconsin (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 56 (13) | 72 (22) | 83 (28) | 89 (32) | 95 (35) | 101 (38) | 107 (42) | 103 (39) | 101 (38) | 89 (32) | 75 (24) | 64 (18) | 107 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 43.4 (6.3) | 47.4 (8.6) | 63.0 (17.2) | 76.1 (24.5) | 85.6 (29.8) | 90.8 (32.7) | 91.7 (33.2) | 90.1 (32.3) | 86.7 (30.4) | 77.7 (25.4) | 61.8 (16.6) | 47.7 (8.7) | 94.0 (34.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 25.4 (−3.7) | 29.1 (−1.6) | 40.6 (4.8) | 54.0 (12.2) | 67.2 (19.6) | 77.0 (25.0) | 81.5 (27.5) | 79.3 (26.3) | 71.9 (22.2) | 57.8 (14.3) | 43.4 (6.3) | 30.7 (−0.7) | 54.8 (12.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 17.7 (−7.9) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 31.4 (−0.3) | 44.0 (6.7) | 56.8 (13.8) | 66.8 (19.3) | 71.4 (21.9) | 69.5 (20.8) | 61.3 (16.3) | 48.6 (9.2) | 35.5 (1.9) | 23.8 (−4.6) | 45.6 (7.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 10.0 (−12.2) | 11.7 (−11.3) | 22.1 (−5.5) | 33.9 (1.1) | 46.4 (8.0) | 56.6 (13.7) | 61.3 (16.3) | 59.8 (15.4) | 50.8 (10.4) | 39.3 (4.1) | 27.6 (−2.4) | 16.8 (−8.4) | 36.4 (2.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −10.3 (−23.5) | −7.3 (−21.8) | 2.3 (−16.5) | 19.2 (−7.1) | 30.7 (−0.7) | 41.6 (5.3) | 49.6 (9.8) | 47.0 (8.3) | 35.0 (1.7) | 24.6 (−4.1) | 11.7 (−11.3) | −2.9 (−19.4) | −13.5 (−25.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −30 (−34) | −32 (−36) | −21 (−29) | 7 (−14) | 23 (−5) | 34 (1) | 41 (5) | 35 (2) | 25 (−4) | 15 (−9) | −7 (−22) | −23 (−31) | −32 (−36) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.36 (35) | 1.13 (29) | 1.92 (49) | 3.24 (82) | 3.64 (92) | 4.65 (118) | 3.78 (96) | 3.58 (91) | 3.18 (81) | 2.84 (72) | 2.07 (53) | 1.76 (45) | 33.15 (842) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 12.6 (32) | 11.2 (28) | 7.2 (18) | 4.0 (10) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 2.4 (6.1) | 11.6 (29) | 49.4 (125) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 10.1 (26) | 10.2 (26) | 7.6 (19) | 2.2 (5.6) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 1.3 (3.3) | 7.4 (19) | 13.8 (35) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 9.2 | 8.5 | 9.2 | 11.6 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 11.1 | 10.5 | 9.8 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 9.9 | 122.6 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 8.2 | 7.7 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 7.7 | 34.0 |
| Source:NOAA[31][32] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 2,345 | — | |
| 1870 | 4,518 | 92.7% | |
| 1880 | 8,005 | 77.2% | |
| 1890 | 11,869 | 48.3% | |
| 1900 | 15,085 | 27.1% | |
| 1910 | 16,773 | 11.2% | |
| 1920 | 19,561 | 16.6% | |
| 1930 | 25,267 | 29.2% | |
| 1940 | 28,436 | 12.5% | |
| 1950 | 34,010 | 19.6% | |
| 1960 | 48,411 | 42.3% | |
| 1970 | 56,377 | 16.5% | |
| 1980 | 58,913 | 4.5% | |
| 1990 | 65,695 | 11.5% | |
| 2000 | 70,087 | 6.7% | |
| 2010 | 72,623 | 3.6% | |
| 2020 | 75,644 | 4.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[33][1] | |||
Appleton is the principal city of theAppleton–Oshkosh–Neenah CSA, aCombined Statistical Area which includes the Appleton (Calumet and Outagamie counties) and Oshkosh–Neenah (Winnebago County) metropolitan areas,[citation needed] which had a combined population of 392,660 at the2010 census[34] and an estimated population of 409,881 as of 2019.[34]
According to the2020 census, 62,899 of the city's population lived inOutagamie County,[35] 11,304 lived inCalumet County,[36] and 1,441 lived inWinnebago County.[37]
As of thecensus of 2020,[38] the city's population was 75,644. Thepopulation density was 3,051.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,178.2/km2). There were 31,747 housing units at an average density of 1,280.7 units per square mile (494.5 units/km2). Ethnically, the population was 7.3%Hispanic orLatino of any race. When grouping both Hispanic and non-Hispanic people together by race, the city was 80.1%White, 6.4%Asian, 3.13%Black orAfrican American, 0.9%Native American, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 3.2% fromother races, and 6.5% from two or more races.
The 2020 census population of the city included 1,275 people in student housing and 318 people incarcerated in adult correctional facilities.[39]
According to theAmerican Community Survey estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household in the city was $61,475, and the median income for a family was $76,791. Male full-time workers had a median income of $51,431 versus $41,564 for female workers. Theper capita income for the city was $33,282. About 7.8% of families and 10.3% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.[40] Of the population age 25 and over, 92.6% were high school graduates or higher and 33.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher.[41]
As of the 2010census,[5] there were 72,623 people, 28,874 households, and 18,271 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,984.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,152.5/km2). There were 30,348 housing units at an average density of 1,247.3 units per square mile (481.6 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.5%White, 1.7%African American, 0.7%Native American, 5.9%Asian, 2.2% fromother races, and 2.0% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race were 5.0% of the population.
There were 28,874 households, of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.
The median age in the city was 35.3 years. 25% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.
Per the 2022American Community Survey five-year estimates, the Hmong population was 2,965 comprising over 70% of the city's Asian population.[42]
FBI crime statistics for 2019 list the crime rate (per 100,000 population) for Appleton as follows[43]
| Crime | Appleton | Wisconsin[44] | United States[45] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 275.6 | 293.2 | 366.7 |
| Murder | 2.7 | 3 | 5 |
| Forcible rape | 42.8 | 38.8 | 42.6 |
| Robbery | 30.8 | 51.4 | 81.6 |
| Aggravated assault | 199.3 | 200 | 250.2 |
| Property crime | 1,435.3 | 1,471.4 | 2,109.9 |
| Burglary | 143.1 | 217.6 | 340.5 |
| Larceny-theft | 1,217.3 | 1,127 | 1,549.5 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 74.9 | 126.8 | 219.9 |
As of 2020, the largest employers in the city were:[46]
| Rank | Employer | # of employees | Percentage of total city employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Elizabeth Hospital/Ascension Health | 5,172 | 14% |
| 2 | Thrivent Financial | 2,000 | 5.4% |
| 3 | Appleton Area School District | 1,918 | 5.2% |
| 4 | Miller Electric | 1,400 | 3.8% |
| 5 | ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton | 1,184 | 3.2% |
| 6 | Outagamie County | 1,147 | 3.1% |
| 7 | Appvion, Inc. | 1,000 | 2.7% |
| 8 | West Business Services | 1,000 | 2.7% |
| 9 | Valley Packaging Industries | 999 | 2.7% |
| 10 | Walmart | 725 | 2% |
Corporations headquartered in Appleton include:
The city is served by two hospitals:
Appleton tourist attractions include theHearthstone Historic House Museum, the four-story mansion that was the first house in US to be powered byhydroelectricity at its completion in 1881.[14] TheHistory Museum at the Castle contains exhibits on Fox River Valley history, including a gallery showcasingEdna Ferber, aHarry Houdini exhibit, and other traveling exhibits. TheJ. B. Courtney Woolen Mills is a preserved site showcasing the area's historical manufacturing roots.[48]
TheFox Cities Exhibition Center is a prominent venue for conventions and events. TheFox Cities Performing Arts Center is a key location for performing arts, hosting a wide range of theater, musical, and dance performances. TheGardens of the Fox Cities, a public botanical garden, showcases the seasonal beauty of plants and gardens in Wisconsin. TheTrout Museum of Art features a variety of visual art exhibits, contributing to the region's cultural landscape.[49] TheJohn Hart Whorton House is an example of local historic architecture.[50]
Houdini Plaza, on the corner of College Avenue and Appleton Street, has been referred to as the 'front yard' of downtown Appleton. It holds roughly 55 events each year, including summer concerts and part of the downtownfarmers market.[51]
The Atlas Science Center, formerly Paper Discovery Center, was amuseum and workshop center focused onpapermaking and the history of thepaper industry in the area.[52] It was first conceived in 1999 as part of thePaper Industry International Hall of Fame, Inc.[53] TheKimberly-Clark Corporation donated its former Atlas Mill on theFox River in Appleton to house the center, and after it was opened in February 2005, its programs included hands-on work experience, tours, and general information onpapermaking.[52][54] The center closed in November 2024 and donated its remaining assets.[55]
The city of Appleton has 24 neighborhood parks and four community parks in its park system. The neighborhood parks range in size from 2 acres (0.81 ha) to 16 acres (6.5 ha), while the community parks range in size from 25 acres (10 ha) to 139 acres (56 ha).[citation needed]Goodland Field is a historic site associated with local baseball, while theNeuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium serves as the home of the minor leagueWisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Memorial Park is the largest of the community parks, covering 139 acres (56 ha). The park's facilities include: seven baseball/softball fields, playground equipment, an indoor ice skating rink, a sledding hill, a picnic pavilion, a catch-and-release fishing pond, grills, and a warming shelter.[56] The park provides a firework display for the Appleton community during the 4th of July holiday.
City Park, established in 1882, is the oldest park in the Appleton park system. The Trout Museum of Art uses the park for itsArt in the Park showcase. The show features over 200 artists that attract over 25,000 art enthusiasts annually.[57] Pierce Park is the site of weekly Appleton City Band concerts held during the summer, and of the annual Appleton Old Car Show and Swap Meet. Pierce Park and Telulah Park each feature a disc-golf course. Erb Park and Mead Park each feature a public aquatics facility. Jones Park is the site of the finish line for the Santa Scamper run held during the annual Appleton Christmas Parade, and features an outdoor hockey rink in the winter.[58]
Appleton is governed via the mayor-council system. The mayor appoints department heads, subject to council approval. The city attorney is elected every four years in a citywide vote. The council, known as the common council or city council, consists of 15 members, called alderpersons, all of whom are elected to two-year terms from individual districts.
The current mayor of Appleton, Jake Woodford, was elected in 2020 to his first four-year term. The first mayor of Appleton was Amos Story, elected in April 1857. The longest-serving mayor was Timothy Hanna, who served from 1996 through 2020.
Partial of list of Appleton's past mayors:[59]
| Order | Term start | Term end | Mayor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1857 | 1859 | Amos Story | |
| 2 | 1859 | 1860 | Alvin Foster | |
| 3 | 1860 | 1862 | Robert R. Bateman | |
| 4 | 1862 | 1865 | William Johnson | |
| 5 | 1865 | 1866 | R. Z. Mason | |
| 6 | 1866 | 1867 | James Gilmore | |
| 7 | 1867 | 1868 | Robert R. Bateman | |
| 8 | 1868 | 1870 | George N. Richmond | |
| 9 | 1870 | 1871 | Augustus L. Smith | |
| 10 | 1871 | 1872 | George N. Richmond | |
| 11 | 1872 | 1873 | E. C. Goff | |
| 12 | 1873 | 1875 | S. R. Willy | |
| 13 | 1875 | 1875 | Peter Esselburn | |
| 14 | 1875 | 1877 | J. E. Harriman | |
| 15 | 1877 | 1878 | Joseph H. Marston | |
| 16 | 1878 | 1879 | James Ryan | |
| 17 | 1879 | 1880 | Orson W. Clark | |
| 18 | 1880 | 1882 | Humphrey Pierce | |
| 19 | 1882 | 1883 | Joseph H. Marston | |
| 20 | 1883 | 1887 | G. N. Richmond | |
| 21 | 1887 | 1889 | Rush Winslow | |
| 22 | 1889 | 1892 | Alfred H. Levings | |
| 23 | 1892 | 1893 | Rush Winslow | |
| 24 | 1893 | 1894 | Humphrey Pierce | |
| 25 | 1894 | 1897 | Peter Thom | |
| 26 | 1897 | 1900 | Herman Erb Jr. | |
| 27 | 1900 | 1904 | David Hammel | |
| 28 | 1904 | 1906 | Frank W. Harriman | |
| 29 | 1906 | 1908 | David Hammel | |
| 30 | 1908 | 1910 | Bernard C. Wolter | |
| 31 | 1910 | 1913 | James V. Canavan | Died in office, Dec. 1913.[60] |
| 32 | 1914 | 1917 | August Knuppel | Won Feb. 1914 special election.[61] |
| 33 | 1917 | 1918 | John Faville | |
| 34 | 1918 | 1922 | J. Austin Hawes | |
| 35 | 1922 | 1924 | Henry Reuter | |
| 36 | 1924 | 1926 | John Goodland Jr. | |
| 37 | 1926 | 1930 | Albert Rule | |
| 38 | 1930 | 1946 | John Goodland Jr. | |
| 39 | 1946 | 1958 | Robert Roemer | |
| 40 | 1958 | 1966 | Clarence Mitchell | |
| 41 | 1966 | 1972 | George Buckley | |
| 42 | 1972 | 1980 | James Sutherland | |
| 43 | 1980 | 1992 | Dorothy Johnson | |
| 44 | 1992 | 1996 | Richard DeBroux | |
| 45 | 1996 | 2020 | Timothy Hanna | |
| 46 | 2020 | Current | Jake Woodford |
Appleton is represented byRon Johnson (R) andTammy Baldwin (D) in theUnited States Senate. It is represented in theUnited States House of Representatives byTony Wied, who has represented Wisconsin's 8th district sinceNovember 2024. In the Wisconsin state legislature, Appleton is divided among four State Assembly Districts (3rd, 55th, 56th, 57th) and two State Senate Districts (1st, 19th). As of the 2018–2019 legislative session, the following representatives serve these districts:
Appleton is served by theAppleton Area School District, which has three high schools, four middle schools, seventeen elementary schools, and sixteen charter schools. The district's main public high schools areAppleton East,Appleton North, andAppleton West. Appleton has two parochial high schools, namely the CatholicXavier High School andFox Valley Lutheran High School. Appleton also has charter high schools, including Fox Cities Leadership Academy, Renaissance Academy, Appleton Technical Academy, and Tesla Engineering.
Appleton is home toLawrence University, a privateliberal arts college, andFox Valley Technical College. Additionally,Globe University,Concordia University Wisconsin,[62] andRasmussen College have branch campuses in the city.
In recent years, Appleton has emerged as a center for innovation in technology education, particularly in the area of K–12 technology education: the student-drivenAppleton Youth Education Initiative has partnered with Microsoft Philanthropies, Plexus Corp., Miron Construction,Schneider National, and Stellar Blue Technologies to organize the Appleton Tech Clinic and HackAppleton, a popular annual hackathon that draws students from all over Wisconsin.[63][64][65][66][67][68][69]
The city and surrounding area are served by the Appleton Public Library, which was chartered by the city in 1897 and as of 2010 has a collection of over 600,000 items.[14] The library offers free wifi as well as printing and faxing for a small fee.[70]
The city ownsValley Transit, a network of bus lines serving the Fox Valley. Lamers Bus Lines offers intercity buses serving such locations as Wausau, Stevens Point, Waupaca, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, and Milwaukee.[71]
In April 2021,Bird Rides launched a pilot program with 100 rentable electric scooters that users can operate throughout most of the city. In 2024, the city cut ties with Bird Rides, citing scooter parking concerns and concerns regarding Bird Rides' financial viability.[72] The founder of the companyTravis VanderZanden grew up in the Appleton area.[73]
Roads include:
Appleton is crisscrossed by the former main lines of theChicago and North Western Railway (southwest-northeast) and theMilwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway (roughly southeast–northwest, and now largely abandoned except for local service to area paper mills and other industries). A north-south branch of the formerWisconsin Central Railroad passes on the west side of the city. All rail service is now operated byCanadian National Railway. Appleton has no intercitypassenger rail service, although studies are being undertaken on the feasibility of extendingAmtrak rail service to the Fox Cities and Green Bay.
TheAppleton International Airport is 6 miles (9.7 km) west of downtown Appleton. With four major airlines, the airport has an annual volume of over 670,000 passengers.[74]
Chinandega,Chinandega Department, Nicaragua
Kan'onji,Kagawa, JapanAppleton, WI is a city with a population of about 75,000 people. Testing was done on a local level by the Appleton City Health Department. The most disturbing numbers from Appleton is that of children under 1 testing positive for lead. With a state average of 1.9 per 100 for this age group, Appleton tested at 4.5 per 100 for the same demographic.
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