City limitsPlace boundary
Curated city comparison

OshkoshEau Claire

Mid-sized Wisconsin alternatives whose direct city records differ materially on gross yield, entry price, housing stock and local-demand risk.

Oshkosh, WI city briefEau Claire, WI city brief
Oshkosh, WI cityscape
Eau Claire, WI cityscape
Decision memo

The trade-off before property underwriting

The interpretation uses direct city records only. County and metro averages are not substituted into this comparison.

Oshkosh, WI better fits cash flow and entry affordability. Its Zillow value is $262,781.54 versus $321,576.04 in Eau Claire, WI, while indexed rents are close at $1,208.38 and $1,214.09. That supports a 5.52% gross yield in Oshkosh against 4.53% in Eau Claire. The spread is meaningful for screening, but gross yield is not net operating income.

Eau Claire better fits renter pressure and local demand, with important counter-signals. Its ACS vacancy rate is 3.85%, versus 6.70% in Oshkosh, and its overlapping-vintage population change is 3.13%, versus -0.07%. Yet Eau Claire’s unemployment rate is higher at 3.36%, compared with 2.78% in Oshkosh, and its lower gross yield leaves less initial income cushion. These indicators justify underwriting Eau Claire’s occupancy case, not assuming it.

Housing stock depends on strategy. Eau Claire has a 62.58% single-family share, while Oshkosh has an 8.87% large-multifamily share and older median vintage of 1971. Prioritize Oshkosh property checks for achievable rent, vacancy, taxes, insurance, deferred maintenance and utility responsibility. In Eau Claire, test whether low vacancy and population momentum survive neighborhood-level review while the acquisition basis and weaker gross yield still meet return requirements.

Direct city matrix

The same definition on both sides

“n/a” remains missing. Zillow indexes and ACS survey measures stay visibly separate.

Decision evidenceOshkosh, WIEau Claire, WI
Typical home valueZillow ZHVI · city$262,782$321,576
Observed market rentZillow ZORI · city$1,208$1,214
Gross yieldZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI · before costs5.5%4.5%
Price to household incomeZillow value ÷ ACS income4.23x4.77x
Annual rent to incomeZillow rent × 12 ÷ ACS income23.3%21.6%
Rent burdenACS renter households paying 30%+44.0%40.8%
Renter shareACS occupied housing45.0%45.6%
Vacancy rateACS all housing units6.7%3.8%
Population changebetween ACS vintages · not annualized▼ 0.1%▲ 3.1%
UnemploymentACS civilian labor force2.8%3.4%
Entry and income screen

Price, rent and yield do not tell the same story

Bars begin at zero within each measure. Gross yield remains a before-cost screen.

OshkoshEau ClaireTypical home valueZillow ZHVI · city$263k$322kObserved market rentZillow ZORI · monthly city index$1k$1kGross yieldZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI · before costs5.5%4.5%
Zillow city ZHVI and ZORI · 2026-06 / 2026-06
Price and rent history

Two city paths, each rebased to 100

Each panel keeps price and rent in its own city; no level is borrowed across geographies.

Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI +36.1%ZORI +25.7%
13611695202120222023202420252026
Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.
Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI +28.0%ZORI +18.1%
12811295202120222023202420252026
Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.
Fit by objective

There is no universal city winner

Five city questions remain separate so a yield lead cannot erase affordability or demand risk.

01
Cash-flow screenOshkosh

Oshkosh, WI is the stronger cash-flow screen: its gross yield is 5.52%, compared with 4.53% in Eau Claire, WI, despite similar Zillow indexed rents of $1,208.38 and $1,214.09. That advantage is only a starting point. For both cities, verify unit-level rent, current occupancy, taxes, insurance, utilities, management, repairs and capital needs before treating the spread as durable.

02
Entry affordabilityOshkosh

Oshkosh, WI better fits entry affordability. Its Zillow city value is $262,781.54 versus $321,576.04 in Eau Claire, WI, and its price-to-income measure is 4.23 compared with 4.77. The next check is not the ACS median home value, which answers a different survey question; it is the asking price, condition, unit economics and financing terms of comparable properties in each city.

03
Renter pressureEau Claire

Eau Claire, WI better fits renter pressure because its ACS vacancy rate is 3.85%, versus 6.70% in Oshkosh, WI, while renter shares are 45.57% and 45.01%. Oshkosh’s 44.02% rent-burden rate, however, exceeds Eau Claire’s 40.77%, suggesting less room for aggressive increases. Underwrite turnover, concessions, collections and competing listings by neighborhood rather than assuming citywide tightness guarantees property occupancy.

04
Housing stockDepends on the property

Housing-stock fit depends on acquisition type. Eau Claire, WI has a 62.58% single-family share and median year built of 1975; Oshkosh, WI has an 8.87% large-multifamily share and median year built of 1971. Eau Claire may better suit single-family targeting, while Oshkosh offers relatively more large-building exposure. In either city, inspect roofs, foundations, mechanical systems, electrical service and deferred capital work.

05
Local demand riskEau Claire

Eau Claire, WI has the stronger local-demand signal, but not an unqualified one. Its overlapping-vintage ACS population change is 3.13%, compared with -0.07% in Oshkosh, WI, and vacancy is lower. Counter-signals matter: Eau Claire unemployment is 3.36% versus Oshkosh’s 2.78%, while gross yield is 4.53% versus 5.52%. Verify employer concentration, tenant leads, leasing velocity and neighborhood occupancy before advancing.

Household pressure

Acquisition and renter affordability

OshkoshEau ClairePrice to incomeZillow value ÷ ACS household income4.2x4.8xRent to incomeAnnual Zillow rent ÷ ACS household income23.3%21.6%Rent-burdened householdsACS renters paying 30% or more44.0%40.8%
Zillow city indexes divided by direct ACS city household measures.
Housing system

Tenure, vacancy and structure

OshkoshEau ClaireRenter shareACS occupied housing45.0%45.6%Vacancy rateACS all housing units6.7%3.8%Single-family stockACS one-unit structures59.9%62.6%Large multifamily stockACS structures with 20+ units8.9%7.9%
ACS citywide housing characteristics; not rentable inventory or lease-up speed.
Underwriting boundary

What this city comparison cannot decide

City evidence narrows a search; it does not appraise, inspect or finance a property.

  1. 01

    Population change comes from overlapping ACS vintages and is not annualized. It can support a demand hypothesis, but it does not establish current leasing velocity, household formation or property-level occupancy in either city.

  2. 02

    The 5.52% Oshkosh and 4.53% Eau Claire gross yields exclude vacancy, management, repairs, taxes, insurance, utilities, financing and capital work. Property-specific expenses could materially reorder the cash-flow comparison.

  3. 03

    Zillow indexes describe city-level market price and rent conditions, while ACS median value and gross rent are survey measures with different coverage and definitions. They should not be averaged or treated as competing appraisals.

Figure-level provenance

The direct sources behind both records

Release period and retrieval date remain separate. Open either city brief for its complete geography ledger.

Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housingACS 2024 5-yearPulled 2026-07-29Census ACS 5-year — cities and communitiesACS 2024 5-yearPulled 2026-07-30Zillow ZHVI — city home valueszillow_zhvi_city.csvPulled 2026-07-29Zillow ZORI — city market rentszillow_zori_city.csvPulled 2026-07-29
Oshkosh, WIOpen the complete city brief66,729 residents in the current ACS recordEau Claire, WIOpen the complete city brief70,322 residents in the current ACS recordProperty testStress-test the same assumptionsReplace city averages with an actual deal