New analysis finds higher rate of evictions in southeast Wisconsin

A new analysis finds a higher rate of evictions in southeast Wisconsin than the rest of the state.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum report shows Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee and Rock counties had the highest eviction rates in the state in 2016. At least 3 percent of renters were thrown out that year, and all four counties have had eviction rates above that level since at least 2010.

No other county in the state had an eviction rate above 3 percent during that time.

The report shows that Milwaukee County accounted for 42 percent of the of the state’s eviction total in 2016, with 6,313 evictions. By comparison, the county’s residents made up 17 percent of the state’s population at the time.

Of the state’s nearly 800,000 renter households, nearly 200,000 were located in Milwaukee County in 2016.

Neighboring Racine and Kenosha counties, with about 50,000 total rental households, had the highest rates of eviction that year.  

One “striking” finding is that higher eviction rates don’t equate to more rent-burdened households, report authors note. Any household spending more than 30 percent of its income on rent is considered rent-burdened.

The report shows only four counties had both eviction and rent burden rates above the statewide average in 2016 — the same four listed above that had the highest eviction rates in the state at the time.

One reason listed for this trend is the large student populations located in counties like Dane, La Crosse and Eau Claire. Many students get help from family for rent, despite having low income.

Report authors also note that while high rates of eviction are often linked to poverty, they found that counties with the highest eviction rates weren’t always impoverished. Only half of the top 10 counties for eviction rates in 2016 had poverty rates below the statewide average.

“An important contributing factor is that evictions are not evenly distributed throughout each county,” they said. “Rather, they are often overwhelmingly concentrated in a small number of municipalities or even neighborhoods.”

Within Milwaukee County, only 19 of its 296 census areas had eviction rates above 10 percent in 2016, while 85 census areas had rates below 1 percent. The impoverished areas with higher rates are located on Milwaukee’s north and northwest sides.

According to the report, an eviction prevention task force has been created in Milwaukee County, and is working on some strategies which report authors say could be useful in other communities as well.

These include establishing a resource center modeled after the one in Madison; expanding rent assistance programs; and expanding mediation services to keep more housing disputes out of the court system.

See the full report: http://wispolicyforum.org/focus/uprooted-evictions-in-wisconsin/

–By Alex Moe
WisBusiness.com