MILWAUKEE – Low incomes, not high rent costs, appear to be the biggest impediment to affordable housing throughout Wisconsin, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
The study analyzed whether 30 percent of the median monthly income among renters was sufficient to cover rent in a community. Renters spending over 30 percent of their income were considered burdened.
In eight of the 10 most rent-burdened counties, incomes were below the state median, despite five (Langlade, Iron, Eau Claire, Adams, and Vilas) having lower rent prices than statewide.
Sixteen counties in Wisconsin had rent-to-income gaps, with Kenosha’s being the largest. It is one of five counties — Kenosha, Milwaukee, Walworth, Iron and Langlade — where more than 50 percent of renters are considered burdened.
Dane County, where rent appears to be a bigger factor than in other areas of the state, is an outlier.
Among the five most rent-burdened counties that exceed the state median, Dane County, where rent was 19.4 percent higher, was the only county that did so by more than 10 percent. The county ranks ninth for most rent-burdened households, despite incomes 17.5 percent above the statewide median.
