Where Are New Balance Shoes Made? USA, UK, and Asia Factories
Knowing where are New Balance shoes made comes down to three distinct production tiers across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia. The brand operates five factories in Maine and Massachusetts for its Made in USA line, one historic plant in Flimby, England for its Made in UK line, and contract plants in Vietnam, China, and Indonesia for general releases.
In short: four lines, four answers
The whole answer is four production lines. The box a pair comes in only ever names one of them.
- Made in USA: New England, at least 70% domestic by value, by the brand’s own published rule.
- Made in UK: According to brand records, Workington (1982) and Flimby (1991) average 70% to 75% domestic, and about 5% of European sales in 2017.
- Made in Japan: a small premium run for the home market, not a share of the business worth counting.
- Everything else: Indonesia, Vietnam and China, which is most of what is sold anywhere.
- The test: the model number tells you which shelf a pair came from, and the box does not.
Made in USA vs Made in UK vs the rest.
The four lines are the whole answer, and the box only ever tells you one of them. The two “Made in” lines are a small share of sales, not the default, and neither is 100% domestic.
| Line | Where | How much of the shoe | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in USA | New England | At least 70% domestic | 990v2, 990v3, 990v5 Core, 990v6, 993 |
| Made in UK | Flimby, England | 70% to 75% domestic | 991, 991v2, 1500, 574, 576, 577, R770 |
| Made in Japan | Japan | Its own premium line | A small, limited run |
| Everything else | Indonesia, Vietnam, China | The bulk of what is sold | Most of the catalogue |
- 70% is the bar for the domestic lines, and the brand says so itself.
- If the country of origin matters to you, check the model number before you check the box.
How much of the shoe is actually American?
Per brand standards, New Balance sets that domestic rule at 70%. It is the brand’s own number, not ours. At least 70% of it is, by value. According to New Balance’s own Made in USA page, a pair has to be at least 70% domestically sourced to carry the mark. So the major components are built in the States. The rest is not. For that reason, it says Made in USA rather than made entirely there.
Their own line on it: “Designed without compromise and constructed with authentic American craftsmanship for over 75 years, the Made in USA mark is the symbol of our very best, for those who would accept nothing less.” It is a real claim with a real threshold behind it. This is more than most heritage marketing can say.
By value is the operative phrase. It means the expensive parts, the upper and the assembly, count for more than the eyelets. As a result, a pair can be 70% American by cost while several of its smaller components are not.
Where are the American factories?
The factories are in New England, where the company has been since the start. According to the company’s documented history, William J. Riley founded the New Balance Arch Support Company in the Boston area in 1906. The domestic manufacturing never left the region.
New Balance is the only major athletic brand still running domestic shoe manufacturing at any scale. Keep it in proportion, though: the Made in USA collection is a small slice of what is sold in the US. It carries the price you would expect from that.
Riley’s company began as an arch-support maker, which the name still records. The domestic line still reads as an orthopaedic brand’s idea of a sneaker. Every pair is built for the foot first and the look second.
70% domestic is the bar, not 100%. What about the Made in UK line?
The UK line is older than most people think. It is the one with real production numbers attached. New Balance opened a factory in Workington in 1982 and moved it to Flimby in 1991. Flimby is where those pairs get their components and their assembly in Cumbria. Production data shows the UK threshold averages 70% to 75% domestic value per pair.
The scale is worth knowing. According to figures reported in 2017, Flimby was turning out 28,000 pairs a week, which was 5% of the New Balance shoes sold across the European market. That output is small next to Asia, yet larger than a boutique.
The line skews limited edition and premium, with better materials. Each release blends traditional technique with modern tooling. A good number of the collaborations that keep selling out come from here, which is part of why they are priced the way they are.
Workington in 1982, Flimby since 1991. Where is everything else built?
Everything else is built in Indonesia, Vietnam and China. That is most of the catalogue. The USA, UK and Japan lines together are the exception rather than the rule. This is the single most useful thing to know: a New Balance bought at random was almost certainly assembled in Asia.
That is not a knock on it. It is the same arrangement almost every athletic brand runs. We went through the equivalent for where Nike shoes are made. It just means the “Made in” marketing describes a specific shelf, not the brand.
The practical test is the model number. The 990 family and the 993 make up the American line. The 991, 1500, and 57x models belong to the British line. Anything outside those lists is Asian production with a New England badge.
Why do tariffs reach the domestic lines too?
The tariffs probably do, eventually, and not evenly. The tariffs reach the domestic lines. The reason is that the 70% bar leaves 30% of the shoe imported, even on a pair with the flag on the box. Components crossing a border carry the duty whichever factory finishes the shoe, so the latest tariff changes touch the Made in USA pairs as well as the Asian ones.
The domestic pair is exposed less, because less of it crosses a border. However, it is not exposed to nothing. That 70% domestic cost share leaves 30% of each pair open to imported soles and components.
The Asian lines are exposed in full, since the whole shoe crosses a border. So a tariff widens the gap between the two shelves rather than moving them together. The domestic pair becomes relatively cheaper without becoming cheap.
When would a price change actually show up?
The price change shows up when the brand decides to pass it on. That decision has not been made in public. Brands absorb duty for a while to protect a price point, then move the number once when the margin runs out.
If you were already eyeing a pair from one of the “Made in” lines, that is an argument for sooner rather than later. Keep an eye on it, and check the model number first.
The tell is usually a new colourway launching at a higher number while the existing ones hold. The reason is that a brand would rather introduce a price than raise one. Watch the two flagship domestic models, the 990v6 and the 991v2. In practice, those are the pairs the marketing is built around.
Is Made in USA the same as 100% American?
The label does not require every component to be American. The bar is at least 70% of the shoe sourced domestically. Major components are built in the States and the remainder is not. For that reason, the mark reads Made in USA rather than entirely there.
Does New Balance build shoes in Japan?
Yes, there is a separate Japanese line alongside the American and British ones. Like those two it is a small premium run rather than a meaningful share of what the brand sells.
How do I tell where my pair was built?
Check the model number, then the box label. The 990 family and the 993 are the American line. The 991, 1500 and 57x models are the British one. Anything else was almost certainly assembled in Asia.
