States / Wisconsin

State rental intelligence

Wisconsin rental market data

A source-traced view across 25 metro markets and 72 counties. State figures below are labelled medians and totals—not a made-up statewide investment score.

21/25 metros scored72/72 counties with FEMA risk13 sources used in this analysis

Median scored metro61.0out of 100 · 21 measured metros

Wisconsin identity diorama showing regional landscape, cities, housing, and infrastructure

Median metro home value$326kmedian across published metro values

Median metro rent$1,208monthly · published metro values

Median gross yield4.7%annual rent ÷ price · before costs

Median job trend▼ 0.4%trailing 12-month metro employment

State research brief

Home values are outpacing rents even as median metro employment slips and migration is nearly flat, making appreciation a weaker cash-flow signal than it first appears.

Updated 2026-07-31 · evidence current to the releases listed below.

Across the measured metro distribution, median home-value growth was 5.2% versus 3.5% rent growth, leaving rent growth 1.7 percentage points behind. Median employment growth was negative 0.4% across 25 metros, while migration across 72 counties was positive by only 442 people, or 0.075 per 1,000 residents.

Counter-signals matter: selected metros posted rent growth above price growth, two named labor markets added jobs, and inbound aggregate mover income exceeded outbound income. Screening should therefore be local and should distinguish appreciation, tenant demand, rentable vacancy and gross yield. The packet does not establish property-level occupancy, achievable rent, operating expenses, unit condition, insurance cost or parcel-level hazard exposure.

Median metro value growth of 5.2% versus rent growth of 3.5% → underwrite rental income separately from appreciation.

Negative 0.4% median job growth and net migration of only 442 people → require local evidence of tenant demand rather than assuming broad expansion.

A 39.5% median renter-burden rate alongside high vacancy in low-renter, single-family-heavy counties → do not treat all-unit vacancy as available rental supply.

A 4.7% median gross yield and a 105.7% median rent-to-Fair-Market-Rent ratio → stress operating costs and achievable rent before treating gross yield as cash flow.

A 1.36% median property-tax rate with named counties above the 1.57% 90th percentile → model taxes at the county and property level.

Price and rent momentum

Price growth leads rent growth by 1.7 percentage points

Median home-value growth across 25 measured metros was 5.2%, compared with median rent growth of 3.5% across the 21 metros with rent-growth observations. Price growth ran from 2.9% at the 10th percentile to 7.9% at the 90th, while rent growth ranged from 2.6% to 7.9%. The medians indicate weaker income momentum than asset-value momentum, not a result shared by every metro.

Fond du Lac was a counterexample: rent rose 8.8% while price rose 4.8%, with a 4.7% gross yield. Whitewater also had rent growth of 8.2% against price growth of 4.1%, although its gross yield was 3.9%. Wausau moved in the other direction, with 7.9% rent growth trailing 8.3% price growth and a 4.5% gross yield. These differences make metro-level rent and price paths more useful than the state distribution alone.

Evidence: Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Employment and household movement

Employment softened while migration barely stayed positive

Employment growth across 25 measured metros had a negative 0.4% median, with the distribution running from negative 1.3% at the 10th percentile to positive 0.2% at the 90th. That is a cautious demand signal, but not a universal contraction: Fond du Lac posted 0.6% job growth and Green Bay posted 0.4%.

Across 72 counties, 147,254 people moved in and 146,812 moved out, producing net migration of 442 people, or 0.075 per 1,000 residents. Inbound aggregate mover income exceeded outbound income by $413,875. The direction of both measures was positive, but the population flow was too close to balanced to support broad assumptions about expanding tenant demand.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — population · BLS CES — payroll employment · BLS LAUS — resident employment · IRS SOI — county migration and mover income

Housing stock and tenant conditions

Renter strain coexists with high vacancy in owner-heavy counties

The median county share of renters spending at least 30% of income on rent was 39.5%, and the 90th percentile was 46.2%. The highlighted rates were still higher in Lincoln County at 51.9%, Washburn County at 49.2% and Milwaukee County at 48.4%. Milwaukee County combined a 50.1% renter share with 8.0% vacancy and a median housing-stock year of 1957, compared with a county-distribution median of 1977. That combination supports both affordability and physical-condition checks.

County vacancy had a 12.0% median and a 44.0% 90th percentile, but the highest named examples were owner-heavy and had small renter shares. Vilas County had 55.2% vacancy, 16.0% renters and 88.5% single-family housing; Forest County had 54.0%, 18.0% and 86.6%; Burnett County had 53.3%, 14.2% and 87.2%. These all-unit vacancy rates do not identify how many units are available or suitable for long-term rental.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock

Entry cost and affordability

Lower-entry metros show the highest highlighted gross yields

The measured metro medians were a $325,505 home value, $1,208 monthly rent and 4.7% gross yield. Gross yields ranged from 3.9% at the 10th percentile to 5.6% at the 90th. The median price-to-income ratio was 4.25, while annualized rent represented 19.5% of median income. These are screening ratios rather than net returns.

Platteville paired a $229,966 price with $1,208 rent, a 6.3% gross yield, a 3.44 price-to-income ratio and 21.7% rent-to-income. Wisconsin Rapids paired $231,474 with $1,104 rent, a 5.7% gross yield, a 3.4 price-to-income ratio and 19.5% rent-to-income. At the distribution medians, asking rent was $1,208 against a $1,156 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent, a supplied ratio of 105.7%; that ratio ranged from 97.8% to 122.0%. Fair Market Rent is a program benchmark with a specific bedroom standard, not a ceiling or proof of achievable rent.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — household income · HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standard · Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Supply and resale conditions

Tight median inventory masks slower, more negotiable pockets

Across 24 measured resale markets, the medians were 2.7 months of supply, 46 days on market, a 100.2% sale-to-list ratio and price drops on 18.5% of listings. At the 90th percentile, supply reached 3.7 months, marketing time reached 52.7 days and price drops reached 24.7%. The median looks liquid, but it does not describe the slower tail.

Menomonie had 62 days on market, 2.5 months of supply, price drops on 22.3% of listings and a 97.7% sale-to-list ratio. New permitting also did not map cleanly to resale looseness: Baraboo had 9.54 permits per 1,000 residents, 3.6 months of supply and 22.9% price drops, while Oshkosh had 7.56 permits per 1,000, 2.4 months of supply and 10.8% price drops. Exit assumptions should therefore use each market's resale measures rather than permits alone.

Evidence: Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units · Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts

Physical risk and property tax

Property-tax outliers and hazard labels require separate checks

The county-distribution median effective property-tax rate was 1.36%, with a 1.57% 90th percentile and a $2,923 median tax. Menominee County was well above that range at 3.56% and $3,926; Milwaukee County was at 1.93% and $4,444; Racine County was at 1.63% and $4,099. Gross-yield comparisons that omit these local differences can misstate relative carrying costs.

The median county climate-loss ratio was 0.11%, and the 90th percentile was 0.15%. Columbia County measured 0.26%, Richland County 0.18% and Juneau County 0.17%. Inland flood was the mutually exclusive leading-hazard label for 71 counties and hail for one. Those labels identify each county's top hazard only; they do not establish exposure, insurability or expected loss for a particular parcel.

Evidence: FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios · Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax

Evidence selected for Wisconsin

The ranges behind the analysis

Each row keeps its own unit and shows the measured 10th percentile, median and 90th percentile. A single-value row is labelled directly.

Price and rent momentumAre home values and asking rents moving together or separating?

Employment and household movementDo jobs, household movement and mover income point in the same direction?

Housing stock and tenant conditionsWhat kind of housing exists, how much is vacant and how burdened are renters?

Shape of the state

Distribution before conclusion

A statewide median can hide a wide spread. These SVG charts render at build time and carry no chart library or browser-side data request.

Metro score distribution21 scored metros · median 61.0

County evidence coverageEvery gap stays visible as missing—not estimated

Highest measured metro gross yieldsscreening metric only · before expenses and financing

Metro leaderboard

Markets touching Wisconsin

Multi-state CBSAs appear in every member state. Score is still a metro score; no value is reweighted into a statewide ranking.

#	Metro	Score	Price	Rent	Yield	Jobs
1	Fond du Lac, WI	83	$297k	$1,173	4.7%	▲ 0.6%
2	Beaver Dam, WI	79	$327k	$1,073	3.9%	▲ 0.1%
3	Whitewater, WI	67	$412k	$1,333	3.9%	▼ 0.3%
4	La Crosse, WI	66	$337k	$1,160	4.1%	▲ 0.2%
5	Janesville, WI	63	$300k	$1,208	4.8%	▼ 0.3%
6	Menomonie, WI	62	$318k	$1,090	4.1%	▼ 0.0%
7	Minneapolis, MN	62	$396k	$1,727	5.2%	▲ 0.2%
8	Sheboygan, WI	62	$327k	$1,066	3.9%	▼ 0.3%
9	Green Bay, WI	61	$351k	$1,162	4.0%	▲ 0.4%
10	Watertown, WI	61	$372k	$1,222	3.9%	▼ 0.8%
11	Wausau, WI	61	$272k	$1,018	4.5%	▼ 1.4%
12	Appleton, WI	59	$353k	$1,235	4.2%	▼ 0.5%

Showing the top 12 scored metros of 25. Unscored metros remain discoverable through the national rankings.

Below the metro line

Largest counties in Wisconsin

County figures join on the five-digit FIPS code. The table uses measured local values and prints “n/a” wherever a publisher has no record.

County	Population	Price	Rent	Yield	Hazard
Milwaukee County, WI	926,331	$297k	$1,520	6.2%	inland flooding
Dane County, WI	572,674	$477k	$1,682	4.2%	inland flooding
Waukesha County, WI	411,762	$512k	$1,768	4.1%	inland flooding
Brown County, WI	270,892	$360k	$1,159	3.9%	inland flooding
Racine County, WI	197,532	$317k	$1,462	5.5%	inland flooding
Outagamie County, WI	192,826	$347k	$1,280	4.4%	inland flooding
Winnebago County, WI	171,769	$308k	$1,169	4.6%	inland flooding
Kenosha County, WI	168,438	$339k	$1,715	6.1%	inland flooding
Rock County, WI	164,350	$300k	$1,208	4.8%	inland flooding
Marathon County, WI	138,403	$279k	$1,052	4.5%	inland flooding
Washington County, WI	137,879	$434k	$1,450	4.0%	inland flooding
La Crosse County, WI	120,488	$338k	$1,153	4.1%	inland flooding

County yield sample39/72counties have the rent needed to compute yield

Statewide net migration+442IRS tax-return households summed across counties

Median investor share8.2%among counties with HMDA purchase records

Published city evidence

Go from Wisconsin to a city record

These links exist only where an official Census place, direct city price and rent series, and a checked city brief are all available.

City · WIMilwaukee$231k home · $1,469 rent · 7.6% yield City · WIMadison$435k home · $1,656 rent · 4.6% yield City · WIGreen Bay$289k home · $1,119 rent · 4.6% yield

Sources used in this analysis

Measured releases, not a global source count

Only sources supporting the selected evidence modules are listed here.

Bear case

What can break the thesis

The central price-rent thesis can fail locally: Fond du Lac and Whitewater both had rent growth materially above price growth.
Rent coverage is incomplete, with rent-growth observations for 21 of 25 metros, county rent observations for 39 of 72 counties and county rent-growth observations for 27 counties.
The sources do not share one observation period; the migration data predates the current market and employment trackers, so the signals are not simultaneous.
Gross yields exclude vacancy, maintenance, management, financing, taxes, insurance and capital expenditures.
County vacancy and FEMA metrics lack unit- and parcel-level detail; the packet also provides no property-condition reports or insurance quotes.

Investor questions

Before underwriting a property

Are Wisconsin rents keeping pace with home values?

Not at the measured metro medians. Home values rose 5.2% while rents rose 3.5%, although Fond du Lac and Whitewater were counterexamples where rent growth exceeded price growth.

Does the demand evidence show uniform weakness?

No. Median metro job growth was negative 0.4% and migration was nearly flat, but Fond du Lac and Green Bay posted positive job growth, and inbound aggregate mover income exceeded outbound income.

Do high county vacancy rates indicate abundant long-term rental supply?

Not by themselves. Vilas County, Forest County and Burnett County had vacancy above 53%, but renter shares below 19% and single-family shares above 86%. The data do not identify rentable or occupied-unit condition.

Which highlighted metros offer the strongest gross-yield screens?

Platteville measured 6.3% at a $229,966 price and $1,208 rent. Wisconsin Rapids measured 5.7% at $231,474 and $1,104. Both are gross figures before expenses and vacancy.

What evidence bears most directly on exit and carrying-cost risk?

Menomonie had 62 days on market, a 97.7% sale-to-list ratio and 22.3% price drops, while Menominee County, Milwaukee County and Racine County had effective property-tax rates above the measured 90th percentile. Neither set of county or metro figures determines the outcome for a specific property.