Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of Wisconsin, a state in the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 208,054, making it the second largest city in Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Dane County. Madison is also home to the University of Wisconsin.

Economy

The Wisconsin state government and the University of Wisconsin remain major Madison employers. However, Madison's economy today is evolving from a manufacturing and governmental serviced based economy to a consumer services and high-tech base, particularly in the health, biotech and advertising sectors. Beginning in the early 1990's, the city has experienced a steady economic boom and has been comparatively unaffected by recession. Much of the expansion has occurred on the city's south and west sides, but it has also affected the east side near the Interstate 90-94 interchange and along the northern shore of Lake Mendota. Underpinning the boom is the development of high-tech companies, many actively fostered by the University of Wisconsin working with local businesses and entrepreneurs to transfer the results of academic research into real-world applications, most notably bio-tech applications. Many businesses are attracted to Madison's exceptional skill base, taking advantage of the area's high level of education: Forbes Magazine reported in 2004 that Madison has the highest percentage of Ph.D.s in the nation.

Related Topics:
University of Wisconsin - Forbes Magazine

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Businesses

The pizza chains Rocky Rococohttp://www.rockyrococo.com/ and Pizza Pithttp://www.pizzapit.com/ were both started in Madison. Rocky's was eventually bought by a California firm from the two university students who founded it. Madison is also home to companies such as Rayovac, American Family Insurance, the Credit Union National Association, CUNA Mutual Group.

Related Topics:
Rocky Rococo - Pizza Pit - Rayovac - American Family Insurance - Credit Union National Association - CUNA Mutual Group

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Oscar Mayer was started in Madison, and was a family business for many, many years before being sold to Kraft Foods.

Related Topics:
Oscar Mayer - Kraft Foods

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The Pleasant Company was started in Madison by Pleasant Rowland. The Pleasant Company was bought out by Mattel and renamed American Girl for its most famous product line.

Related Topics:
The Pleasant Company - Pleasant Rowland - Mattel - American Girl

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CUNA Credit Union, Wisconsin's largest credit union, has its headquarters in Madison and has many branches around the area and in the state.

Related Topics:
CUNA Credit Union - Credit union

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Madison has a large number of technology companies in the area, including Sonic Foundry and Epic Systemshttp://www.epicsystems.com. One large employer was Persoft, which is now Eskerhttp://www.esker.com.

Related Topics:
Sonic Foundry - Epic Systems - Persoft

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Many biotech firms exist here as well, including Promegahttp://www.promega.com.

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