Milwaukee County’s Rental Housing Trends and Challenges

In recent years, Milwaukee’s affordable housing challenges have received considerable attention at the city, county, and regional levels. For example, the city of Milwaukee recently unveiled a plan to develop or preserve 10,000 units of affordable housing; Milwaukee County is leading a push to “end chronic homelessness;” and affordable housing was the subject of a major planning effort by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission  (SEWRPC). Yet, as compellingly documented by Matthew Desmond in his 2016 book, Evicted, alarming concerns about the availability of affordable rental housing in Greater Milwaukee remain.

Overall, our analysis shows that the median cost of renting a home in Milwaukee County is not particularly high and that there is a sufficient supply of available rental units to meet the overall demand. However, we also find a sizable gap in the supply of units that would be deemed affordable for the county’s predominantly low-income renter population, indicating that the primary challenge is low incomes, as opposed to high rents.

Also Read: The Evolution of Low-Income Housing Policy, 1949 to 1999