Milwaukee Is America’s Top City for Creatives, According to Squarespace

Milwaukee, take a bow. A new report from Squarespace (yes, the very platform behind every site we build here at Squarepaste) just named it the number one city in America for creatives, beating big names like Chicago, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. It feels a little like the quiet kid winning the talent show, and as a proud Midwest girl, I am taking a small victory lap. Maybe two.

How Squarespace measured the most creative city in America

So how does a city earn the title of most creative city in the country? Squarespace looked at the things that actually make a place hum for makers: performance venues, art galleries, culinary innovation, recurring craft fairs, and funding for artists. Then it scored each city per capita, so a midsize Midwest city with a big creative heart could go toe to toe with the coasts and come out on top.

Milwaukee didn’t just happen to win this title. It has one of the highest concentrations of performance venues in the country, with roughly 97 venues for every 100,000 residents (that’s a lot of stages for a lot of dreamers). It scored a 72 out of 100 for culinary innovation, helped along by its James Beard nominees and its deep love of independent restaurants. And with more than 30 recurring craft fairs, there’s almost always somewhere to set up a table and sell the lovely thing you just made.

Why the Midwest has been a creative powerhouse all along

Here is the part that makes my Midwestern heart happy. People love to assume that creativity only lives on a coast, in a loft, next to an oat milk latte. But anyone who actually grew up in the Midwest knows the truth: this is where so much of the good stuff gets made. We have the studios, the supper clubs, the makers markets, the basement bands, and the kind of community that genuinely shows up for one another. Milwaukee topping this list is not a fluke. It is the Midwest finally getting a little of the credit it has quietly earned for years.

What I love most is that this report celebrates the whole creative ecosystem, not just one famous gallery or one big festival. It rewards the cities that fund their artists, feed their neighbors well, and give people a stage. That is a recipe any city can follow, and it is a sweet reminder that a thriving creative community gets built by a lot of people doing a lot of small, generous things.

Turning a creative city into a creative career

Of course, being a brilliant creative in a brilliant creative city only gets you so far if nobody can find your work. That is where a thoughtful website comes in. Whether you are a Milwaukee photographer, a Midwest ceramicist, or a creative anywhere else entirely, a clean Squarespace website is one of the kindest things you can do for your art. It gives your portfolio a home, your shop a storefront, and your story somewhere to live. (We might be a little biased about Squarespace, but we come by it honestly.)

If you want your site to do a little more than the basics, that is exactly what we do at Squarepaste. We build custom Squarespace plugins and design touches that help creatives stand out, from interactive portfolios to the small details that make a site feel handmade rather than templated.

So congratulations, Milwaukee. And congratulations to every Midwest creative who has been quietly making beautiful things this whole time. If you are ready to give your work the website it deserves, you know exactly where to find us.

Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, CBS 58, and WTMJ