The St. Francis Economic Development Committee and local governmental departments work together to encourage businesses to locate and expand in our city and to become active participants of our local economic base.

St. Francis is home to the world headquarters of Harnischfeger Corporation and Newell Group’s EZ Paintr Corporation. Our industrial base includes both light and heavy manufacturing of a variety of goods including food products, machine parts, barrels, spices, paints, and much more. Commercial and service businesses include industrial supply service, massage therapy, direct mail service and a variety of retail shops. Businesses are staffed with dedicated, hardworking employees, most of whom are residents of the area.

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St. Francis offers an exciting variety of shopping opportunities. Whitnall Square and Layton Mart malls are each anchored by a major food grocer and also home to many unique smaller shops. Independent retailers throughout the city offer goods and services ranging from antiques and toys to beauty supplies and candy. Several "mega-malls" and downtown Milwaukee shopping are also located within a few minutes drive of St. Francis.

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St. Francis offers "Big City" culture in a small community setting. Spring brings the St. Francis Scholarship Pageant, a preliminary to the Miss Wisconsin Pageant. Memorial Day ceremonies are held at our beautiful War Memorial Monument. June through August brings the Arts Council’s "Music Under the Stars" programs every other Wednesday night. The exciting July 4th parade is followed by an all-day community celebration with fun, family-oriented activities and events. Labor Day Friday kicks off St. Francis Days, a three-day event with a parade, amusement rides, food, and daily entertainment for all ages. St. Francis and Thomas More High Schools offer a number of entertaining musicals, plays, and concerts during the school year.

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The St. Francis School District operates two PK-8 elementary schools Deer Creek and Willow Glen, and St. Francis High School. All emphasize quality education, small class sizes and personal attention to all students. The St. Francis School District has one of the most advanced computer installations for students and staff in Wisconsin, consisting of 500 workstations in classrooms, libraries and laboratories. St. Francis High School’s curriculum is almost equally divided between college preparatory courses, and technical preparatory, offering instruction in six foreign languages, advanced placement courses, and mathematics; its computer instruction is ranked the best in the area. In addition, the area supports an excellent parochial elementary school for grades 1-8 (Sacred Heart) and a college preparatory parochial high school (Thomas More).

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