The Nicolet College District covers all or part of six counties in northern Wisconsin with a combined population of about 84,000 residents.
The district's rich natural resources, abundance of associated recreational activities, and overall high quality of life in a rural setting are what attract many people to the region.
With thousands of picturesque freshwater lakes and scenic forests, the area has long been a popular tourist destination leading to tourism playing an important role in the area economy.
Over the past 20 years or so the region has also seen a dramatic increase in the number of affluent retirees moving to the region to enjoy tranquil lake-side living. The number of working professionals who have built second homes in the area to enjoy while on vacation has also markedly increased.
This influx of retirees and second home owners has been the driving force behind rising property values in the district. For many of the past 15 years double digit percentage increases in property values have been the norm. The recent housing downturn has not had nearly as dramatic of an effect in the Northwoods as it has in other parts of the county. Property values here are still increasing only now in single-digit percentage increases.
Nicolet enjoys strong and growing relationships with the fifteen K-8 and K-12 school districts in the Nicolet district. One of the most telling statistics that bears this out is that consistently nearly half of all graduating high school seniors in the district enroll at a Wisconsin technical college - predominantly Nicolet - within the first three years after graduation from high school. Nicolet's matriculation rate is commonly the highest, on a percentage basis, of the 16 colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System.
The region's school districts also do a great job educating students. Their students consistently score higher than state and national averages on standardized tests, including on the American College Testing (ACT) entrance exam. Nationally, Wisconsin students typically rank at or near the top on the ACT.
The rich and healthy natural resources of the Nicolet district are a driving force for the region's economy, with tourism leading the way by pumping an estimated $400 million a year into local business cash registers.
Other major employment sectors and economic drivers include the education systems in the district, area health care providers, and forest products businesses.
Manufacturing in the region has followed state and national trends with a smaller portion of the workforce employed in that sector today than 10 to 20 years ago. Still, manufacturing plays a significant and important part in the regional economy.
Nicolet has a strong history of working with employers from these sectors and others to provide the skilled workforce necessary for a healthy economy.
The Nicolet District is home to three Native American Tribal communities. These include the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Sokaogon Chippewa, and the Forest County Potawatomi. Nicolet has partnerships with all three tribes, including an outreach center in each community.
The same features that make northern Wisconsin a popular vacation destination are also major contributors to the overall quality of life for residents. Along with the attractiveness of a wide variety of outdoor recreation activities is the added benefit that many are close at hand, commonly just out the front door or within a short drive.
Within the Nicolet district's boundaries are one of the largest concentrations of freshwater lakes in the world (1,100 in Oneida County and 1,300 in Vilas County), the Northern Highland State Forest and portions of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
Common activities include boating in its many forms, bicycling on an increasing number of dedicated paved trails, camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, snowmobiling, skiing, riding ATVs, and nature watching.