Wisconsin rental market data

Recent-lease rent increased 2.3% to $1,233, while the separate Vacancy Index rose by 0.7 percentage points to 7.2%. Apartment List's separate time-on-market series increased by 0.4 days to 30.7. These measures point to rent resilience alongside modestly weaker leasing liquidity rather than a uniformly strengthening rental market.

A genuine counter-signal is that national recent-lease rent fell 1.1%, leaving Wisconsin's growth rate 3.4 percentage points higher. That supports continued consideration of the state, but property screening still needs actual occupancy, renewal and lead-flow evidence because the state series cannot identify which localities or assets account for the divergence.

Across 25 measured metros, median Zillow home-value growth was 5.2%. Median rent growth was 3.5% across the 21 metros with rent-growth data, so the supplied comparison shows rent lagging price by 1.7 percentage points. That gap makes entry price and in-place income more important than relying on broad rent appreciation to improve returns.

Fond du Lac and Whitewater reverse the median pattern: rent rose 8.8% and 8.2%, respectively, while home values rose 4.8% and 4.1%. Their measured gross yields were 4.7% and 3.9%. Wausau was the counterexample, with rent up 7.9% against 8.3% home-value growth. These are useful locality screens, not evidence of achieved rents, stable occupancy or net returns.

Employment growth across 25 measured metros had a median of -0.4%, with the measured distribution running from -1.3% at the lower end to 0.2% at the upper end. Fond du Lac and Green Bay were positive exceptions at 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. The state median therefore masks local job gains but does not show broad employment expansion.

Across all 72 counties, 147,254 movers came in and 146,812 moved out, a net gain of 442, or 0.075 per 1,000 residents. That is too close to balance to establish migration-led rental demand. The migration series also predates the current leasing measures, so it cannot explain current rent or vacancy movements.

Across 72 measured counties, the median ACS housing vacancy rate was 12.0%, but the distribution stretched from 4.3% to 44.0%. The median renter share was 23.2%, while the median single-family share was 79.8%. This ACS measure covers housing vacancy broadly and must not be treated as Apartment List rental vacancy.

Vilas County had 55.2% ACS vacancy, a 16.0% renter share and an 88.5% single-family share. Forest County recorded 54.0%, 18.0% and 86.6%, while Burnett County recorded 53.3%, 14.2% and 87.2%. Those combinations show why a high county vacancy rate does not by itself establish a large pool of rentable units.

Tenant affordability creates a separate constraint. The median county rent-burden share was 39.5%, and the upper end of the measured distribution was 46.2%. Lincoln County reached 51.9%, Washburn County 49.2% and Milwaukee County 48.4%. These figures flag limited rent headroom but do not establish collections, arrears or turnover.

Redfin's for-sale measures cover 24 metros and show medians of 46 days on market, 2.7 months of supply and 18.5% of listings with price drops. At the upper end of the measured distributions, those figures reached 52.7 days, 3.7 months and 24.7%. These are acquisition-liquidity measures, not rental listing time.

Baraboo combined 9.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents with 3.6 months of supply, 45 days on market and a 22.9% price-drop share. Menomonie took 62 days to sell, had a 22.3% price-drop share and a 97.7% sale-to-list ratio despite only 2.5 months of supply. The contrast supports metro-level negotiation screens and shows that months of supply alone does not establish seller leverage. Permits also measure authorized units, not completions or rental tenure.

Across 72 counties, the median effective property-tax rate was 1.36%, with a measured distribution from 1.07% to 1.57%. Menominee County stood at 3.56% with a $3,926 median tax bill, Milwaukee County at 1.93% with $4,444, and Racine County at 1.63% with $4,099. County-specific tax underwriting is therefore necessary even when purchase prices appear attractive.

FEMA assigns inland flood as the mutually exclusive leading-hazard label for 71 counties and hail for one. These counts do not overlap, but they also do not mean every parcel has the labeled exposure. The median county climate loss ratio was 0.106%, and the upper end of the measured distribution was 0.147%. The packet cannot establish parcel-level flood status, insurance premiums or building-specific mitigation needs.