New Berlin, Wisconsin

New Berlin, Wisconsin
City
Location of New Berlin in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
Coordinates: 42°58′45″N 88°6′33″W / 42.97917°N 88.10917°W / 42.97917; -88.10917Coordinates: 42°58′45″N 88°6′33″W / 42.97917°N 88.10917°W / 42.97917; -88.10917
Country	United States of America
State	Wisconsin
County	Waukesha
Founded	January 13, 1840
Incorporated	1959
Government
• Mayor	David Ament
Area[1]
• Total	36.87 sq mi (95.49 km2)
• Land	36.44 sq mi (94.38 km2)
• Water	0.43 sq mi (1.11 km2)  1.17%
Elevation	922 ft (281 m)
Population (2010)[2]
• Total	39,584
• Estimate (2016)[3]	39,803
• Density	1,086.3/sq mi (419.4/km2)
Time zone	Central (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	Central (UTC-5)
Postal Code	53146, 53151
Area code(s)	262
FIPS code	55-56375[4]
GNIS feature ID	1570202[5]
Website	www.newberlin.org

New Berlin is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 39,584 at the 2010 census, making it the second largest community in Waukesha County after the city of Waukesha.

New Berlin is situated on the eastern border of Waukesha County. Interstate 94 is located immediately north of the city, and Interstate 43 passes through it.^[6]

Pronunciation

Area residents put the accent on the first syllable of Berlin /nuːˈbɜːrlɪn/, rather than the second.

History

The first settlers, Sidney Evans and P.G. Harrington, arrived in the northeastern part of what is now the New Berlin in 1836. The area first came under local government in 1838 as part of the Town of Muskego, which at the time was composed of New Berlin and Muskego. The area that is now the city of New Berlin was separated from the Town of Muskego in 1839 and named the Town of Mentor.^[7]

On January 13, 1840, the Town of Mentor became the Town of New Berlin. It was named by Sidney Evans for his hometown, New Berlin, New York. The town remained a rural and agricultural area until the 1940s, when the westward migration to the suburbs from Milwaukee began. Between 1850 and 1950, New Berlin's population went from 1,293 to 5,334. Ten years later, in 1960, the population had nearly tripled to 15,788. The Town of New Berlin became the City of New Berlin with its incorporation in 1959.^[7]

Large-scale growth to New Berlin occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, mainly as a result of the construction of the New Berlin Industrial Park, which began in 1964. The park is composed of three separate business parks encompassing 1,126 acres (4.6 km²). The business parks include the Moorland Road Industrial Park, the New Berlin Industrial Park and the MSI/Lincoln Avenue Industrial Park.^[8]

Interstate 43 has been expanded at the Moorland Road exit in order to accommodate a growing number of commuters from the suburb. The new interchange has a two-lane roundabout that has been the center of a great deal of controversy because of the high number of accidents and traffic back-ups on Interstate 43.^[9]

Geography

New Berlin is located at 42°58′45″N 88°6′33″W / 42.97917°N 88.10917°W / 42.97917; -88.10917 (42.979063, −88.109188).^[10] It straddles the "Sub-Continental Divide", which runs north-south through the eastern part of the city. Nearly 27 square miles (70 km²) in the western part of the city, or about 73% of the city's total land area, is located west of the Sub-Continental Divide in the Fox River watershed, which is part of the Mississippi River watershed. The remaining area is within the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River drainage basin.^[11]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.87 square miles (95.49 km²), of which, 36.44 square miles (94.38 km²) is land and 0.43 square miles (1.11 km²) is water.^[1]

Michael Joseph Gross of GQ said that "On the map, New Berlin forms a neat six-by-six-mile square in the southeast corner of Waukesha County".^[12]

Demographics

The median income for a household in the city was $73,688, and the median income for a family was $90,659. Males had a median income of $42,008 versus $33,329 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,609. About 2.1% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.^[14]

As of 2009 most New Berlin residents were middle class professionals. Some of them are descendants of area farming families. Others originated from white flight from Milwaukee in the 1960s and 1970s.^[12]

2010 census

As of the census^[4] of 2010, there were 39,584 people, 16,292 households, and 11,327 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,086.2 people per square mile (400.6/km²). There were 14,921 housing units at an average density of 405.0 per square mile (156.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.4% White, 0.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.

There were 16,292 households of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city, the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 33% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.9 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

Municipal water tower

Infrastructure

The Utility Service Area is supplied with water from Lake Michigan, which is purchased from the Milwaukee Water Works. In the eastern portion of the city wastewater is returned to Lake Michigan via the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District sewer system. The western portions of the city, outside of the Utility Service Area, use groundwater/private wells as their water supply source. Four municipal wells act in a reserve capacity. The groundwater acquired from these wells is found in two distinct shallow water bearing geologic formations, or aquifers. The water from these aquifers is radium compliant.^[11]

Government

The eight-member Common Council consists of seven aldermen, representing each of the city’s seven aldermanic districts, and the mayor. The mayor is elected to serve a term of four years; aldermen are elected to serve a term of three years. The mayor of New Berlin is David Ament.^[15] The Common Council adopts the city budget and passes laws, policies and regulations that govern the city.^[16]

Economy

Largest employers

According to the city's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[17] the largest employers in the city are:

Education

New Berlin West High School

Schools in the School District of New Berlin are:

• New Berlin Eisenhower Middle/High School
• New Berlin West High School
• Elmwood Elementary
• Orchard Lane Elementary
• Poplar Creek Elementary
• Ronald Reagan Elementary

There are three private elementary (K4-8) schools in New Berlin

• Heritage Christian Schools ^[18]
• Star of Bethlehem Lutheran School
• Holy Apostles Elementary School

Religion

Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in New Berlin.^[19][20]

Recreation

New Berlin has 26 parks totaling approximately 855 acres (3.5 km²), of which 372 acres (1.5 km²) are developed parks, 107 acres (0.4 km²) are preserved as conservancy, 187 acres (0.8 km²) comprise the New Berlin Hills Golf Course, and 199 acres (0.8 km²) are in various states of development. Facilities include playing fields at Malone Park, near New Berlin's City Hall, and a disc golf course at Valley View Park, in the southeastern part of the city.^[21]

Recognition

CNN Money Magazine ranked New Berlin #34 in its 2009 Top 100 List of Best Small American Towns in which to live.^[22]

Notable people

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for New Berlin.

• City of New Berlin