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$200 Sneakers. Suede, Foam, and Six New England Factories. Here’s Where Every Dollar Goes.
The New Balance 990v6. The only major sneaker still made in America. Dissected dollar by dollar.
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In 1906, an Irish immigrant named William J. Riley started selling arch supports out of Boston. He called his company the New Balance Arch Support Company. In 1960, it made its first running shoe — the Trackster — which became a hit with college track teams because it came in different widths. Nobody else did that.
In 1972, a 28-year-old named Jim Davis bought the company. It had six employees making 30 pairs a day. In 1982, Davis released the 990 — the first $100 running shoe. Runners thought it was absurd. Then they tried it on.
Forty-four years and six generations later, the 990 is still here. The v6 costs $200. It’s stitched and assembled in factories across Massachusetts and Maine. It carries an American flag on the tongue. And it is the only premium sneaker from a major athletic brand that you can honestly say was made in the United States.
Nike makes nothing here. Adidas makes nothing here. Under Armour makes nothing here. New Balance does. I traced where your $200 goes.
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WHERE YOUR DOLLAR GOES — NB 990v6 AT $200
Estimated breakdown based on athletic footwear industry benchmarks. New Balance is private and does not publish per-shoe cost data. The MADE label indicates 70%+ domestic value.
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MATERIALS
~$50 25%
Pigskin suede, mesh, FuelCell foam, rubber outsole, laces
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LABOR & FACTORY
~$54 27%
Cutting, molding, sewing, pressing, assembly, QC
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R&D & DESIGN
~$14 7%
FuelCell tech, width sizing, new models
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MARKETING & BRAND
~$22 11%
Athletes, retail support, brand campaigns
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RETAIL MARGIN
~$44 22%
Foot Locker, Dick’s, running shops, NB.com
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NB PROFIT
~$16 8%
Lower margin than overseas — but that’s the choice
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The biggest line item is labor and the factory — 27% of the price. That’s 1,200 workers in New England who cut suede, mold FuelCell foam, sew uppers, press soles, and inspect every pair. The Lawrence, Massachusetts factory sits in a historic mill on the Merrimack River with over 300 workers. The Skowhegan, Maine facility just completed a $65 million expansion. Two more factories run in Norway, Maine and Methuen, Massachusetts, with a sixth in Londonderry, New Hampshire that opened in early 2026.
The 70% domestic value threshold means some materials are imported — certain foams, textiles, and outsole rubber come from overseas. New Balance is transparent about this. The American flag on the tongue means the shoe meets or exceeds the FTC’s standard for a “Made in USA” claim. It doesn’t mean 100% domestic. But it means more American content than any competitor comes close to.
Here’s the math that matters. A comparable Nike running shoe costs $150 and is made entirely overseas. The 990v6 costs $200 and is made in New England. That $50 premium pays for American wages, American factories, and American communities. It’s the cost of keeping manufacturing here — and 4 million pairs a year prove that enough people think it’s worth it.
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★ Made In New England
Jim Davis bought New Balance in 1972 with six employees making 30 pairs a day. Today the company has 12,000 employees worldwide, $7.8 billion in revenue, and six factories in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. It has never gone public. The Davis family still owns roughly 95%.
That private ownership is why the factories still exist. A public company would have faced shareholder pressure to offshore decades ago. Davis chose differently. And in 2024, his MADE operations contributed $479 million to the U.S. economy. Each MADE worker supports 2.5 additional American jobs.
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★ THE INVESTOR ANGLE — AMERICAN FOOTWEAR
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NB Revenue
$7.8B
Private Company
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MADE Workers
1,200
6 Factories
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Domestic Value
70%+
FTC Compliant
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New Balance is private, so you can’t buy shares. But the story mirrors every American manufacturer we’ve profiled. Private ownership protects long-term decisions. Domestic production costs more but builds a brand moat. And customers who care about where things are made will pay the premium. Revenue has grown from $5.3 billion to $7.8 billion in two years. The MADE label is a driver, not a drag.
For public exposure to the athletic footwear space, Nike (NYSE: NKE) and On Holding (NYSE: ONON) are the traded names. But neither makes shoes in the U.S. The honest comparison is to the companies we’ve covered all along — Red Wing, Leatherman, Martin, Snap-on. Brands where the factory IS the product.
$7.8 billion in revenue. Six factories. 120 years in Boston. And the only flag on the tongue that means what it says.
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