A look at the current state of Dubuque’s economy
While many communities wait to see what the economy will hand them next, the Greater Dubuque region is known for proactively shaping its own future. The region’s strength lies not in reacting faster, but in leading first. Turning insight into action and innovation into results.
With much of the nation still catching up to the economic realities of workforce shortages, housing gaps, and childcare crises exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greater Dubuque region has spent the better part of a decade laying the groundwork for exactly these challenges. That foresight, pairing business intelligence with cross-sector collaboration, is why the local economy enters 2026 steady, resilient, and poised for growth.
Economic Strength in Motion
Even amid cautious national forecasts, Dubuque County’s economy continues to hum. The labor force sits just shy of 60,000, within reach of its pre-pandemic highs, and median household income has risen over 11% since 2021, climbing to $75,919. Cumulative construction investment across Dubuque County topped $1 billion as of October 31, 2025, surpassing Greater Dubuque Development’s 2027 goal. This is evidence of developers betting on long-term regional strength.
That confidence comes from the ground up. Local employers report rising market share, expanding product lines, and steady profitability. The region’s industry base, once overly dependent on manufacturing, now spans logistics, healthcare, finance, insurance, higher education, and information services, providing insulation from economic shocks. Even in the face of tight labor markets, nearly half of area businesses plan to expand or reinvest in the next 12 months, according to our 2024-2025 InfoAction results.
Workforce: From Shortage to Strategy
Nationally, employers continue to wrestle with a labor market where job openings outpace job seekers. The Dubuque region has chosen to approach that reality as a design challenge, not a dead end.
Programs like Opportunity Dubuque, a partnership with Northeast Iowa Community College, have become a national model for skills-based training with 3,441 total completions since 2011, and a 92% rate of completers securing employment related to their area of study or continuing their education. That is thousands entering high demand careers in manufacturing, transportation, and health care. With tuition support, career coaching, and wrap around assistance built in, Opportunity Dubuque removes barriers that elsewhere still hold workers back.
Equally forward-looking is the region’s approach to talent attraction. Through the Community of Colleges event series and Talent Dubuque program, over 1,100 students and 32 employers connected last year. This is work that builds professional and social ties that make post-graduation retention a realistic outcome, not a wish. Meanwhile, AccessDubuqueJobs.com, now approaching three decades of evolution, continues to serve as the region’s digital hub for connecting employers and talent across sectors.
To read the remainder of this premium article and other premium articles in their entirety, pick up the Julien’s Journal January 2026 issue. Single issues are available in print for free at area newsstands, or you can click here to read the entire article for free in the digital version of the magazine.
Read Julien’s Journal, CHOICES For Fifty Plus and Tri-State Home TRENDS from the Comfort of Your Home!
Click to subscribe or call 563.557.7571 to subscribe for convenient delivery to your home or business by mail.
Comment here