State rental market analysis · WI
Wisconsin rental markets
41 tracked cities over 20,000 population, 41 ranked and summarized by their median Overall. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. All states ranked →
Browse every Wisconsin ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the East North Central Census division (Midwest region).
The honest read
Wisconsin ranks #40 of 51 states for rental investing, with a median Overall of 41.6/100 across its ranked cities, below the national median. 41 ranked cities roll up into this grade.
A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 41 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 5.6% | not measured |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.6% | not measured |
| Home value growth | Growth | 6.4% | not measured |
| Population growth | Growth | 0.2% | not measured |
| Job growth | Growth | 0.4% | not measured |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 4.6× | not measured |
| Unemployment | Stability | 2.9% | not measured |
| Rental demand | Stability | 44% renters · 468.0% vacancy | not measured |
| Income growth | Growth | 5.3% | not measured |
Every city in Wisconsin, ranked
Led by Mount Pleasant at 58/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| WI rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Pleasant | 58 | C | C | B | $350,442 | 5.8% | #379 |
| 2 | Beloit | 56 | B | C | C | $211,287 | 7.6% | #488 |
| 3 | Kenosha | 55 | B | C | C | $286,557 | 6.9% | #498 |
| 4 med | Pleasant Prairie | 54 | C | C | C | $472,884 | 5.2% | #591 |
| 5 | Howard | 52 | C | C | C | $401,331 | 4.9% | #658 |
| 6 | Brookfield | 51 | C | C | B | $533,966 | 4.9% | #708 |
| 7 | Appleton | 50 | D | C | B | $309,058 | 4.6% | #742 |
| 8 | Sun Prairie | 50 | D | B | B | $447,925 | 4.4% | #762 |
| 9 | Janesville | 49 | D | C | B | $300,428 | 4.9% | #813 |
| 10 | Menomonee Falls | 49 | C | C | C | $445,764 | 5.7% | #836 |
| 11 | Mequon | 45 | D | C | C | $665,026 | 4.7% | #1055 |
| 12 | West Bend | 44 | D | C | B | $359,869 | 4.7% | #1106 |
| 13 | Franklin | 44 | C | D | C | $447,838 | 5.3% | #1117 |
| 14 | Oak Creek | 43 | D | C | C | $418,459 | 5.1% | #1133 |
| 15 | Germantown | 43 | D | D | B | $465,020 | 4.3% | #1141 |
| 16 | New Berlin | 43 | D | D | B | $461,638 | 4.3% | #1146 |
| 17 | Madison | 43 | D | B | B | $432,061 | 4.5% | #1154 |
| 18 | Sheboygan | 42 | D | D | B | $268,752 | 4.8% | #1190 |
| 19 med | Caledonia | 42 | D | D | B | $392,377 | 4.6% | #1200 |
| 20 | Wausau | 42 | D | C | C | $253,426 | 4.9% | #1201 |
| 21 | Green Bay | 42 | D | C | B | $289,857 | 4.5% | #1212 |
| 22 | Superior | 41 | C | D | C | $236,106 | 5.8% | #1226 |
| 23 | Fitchburg | 41 | F | B | B | $509,067 | 4.0% | #1245 |
| 24 | Racine | 41 | C | C | D | $220,914 | 6.5% | #1247 |
| 25 | Oshkosh | 40 | D | C | C | $262,743 | 5.5% | #1260 |
| 26 | Watertown | 40 | D | D | B | $333,129 | 4.6% | #1288 |
| 27 | Manitowoc | 40 | D | C | C | $246,429 | 5.3% | #1293 |
| 28 | Waukesha | 39 | D | C | B | $428,498 | 4.2% | #1304 |
| 29 med | Muskego | 39 | D | C | C | $536,113 | 4.0% | #1305 |
| 30 | Eau Claire | 38 | D | C | C | $322,318 | 4.2% | #1344 |
| 31 | Neenah | 38 | D | C | C | $313,906 | 3.9% | #1366 |
| 32 | Fond du Lac | 37 | D | D | C | $268,232 | 5.4% | #1394 |
| 33 | Stevens Point | 37 | D | D | C | $289,525 | 5.4% | #1405 |
| 34 | De Pere | 37 | D | D | B | $412,396 | 4.1% | #1434 |
| 35 | Milwaukee | 36 | C | D | D | $230,242 | 7.6% | #1456 |
| 36 | West Allis | 35 | D | D | D | $282,060 | 5.7% | #1484 |
| 37 | Greenfield | 32 | D | D | C | $338,517 | 5.6% | #1588 |
| 38 | South Milwaukee | 31 | D | D | C | $314,983 | 4.4% | #1621 |
| 39 | Middleton | 30 | F | C | B | $624,004 | 3.0% | #1665 |
| 40 | La Crosse | 29 | F | D | B | $288,612 | 4.5% | #1679 |
| 41 | Wauwatosa | 29 | D | D | D | $434,034 | 4.7% | #1680 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2019–2023 · Census PEP July 2024 · BLS LAUS county 2023 annual. Generated 2026-09-01. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
ZIP markets in Wisconsin
783 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in Wisconsin · 620 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the Wisconsin city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a newer release than the ACS 2019–2023 figures the city table above uses; the same measure can legitimately disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in Wisconsin
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical WI state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the Wisconsin city table and not directly comparable to it.
| WI rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 53590Sun Prairie | A 71#358 nat | 4.5%Survey yield |
| #2 | 53719Madison | A 71#448 nat | 4.9%Survey yield |
| #3 | 53593Verona | A 68#800 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| #4 | 54016Hudson | A 68#930 nat | 3.8%Survey yield |
| #5 | 53718Madison | A 67#1,180 nat | 5.6%Survey yield |
| #6 | 54914Appleton | A 67#1,205 nat | 5.0%Survey yield |
| #7 | 54017New Richmond | A 66#1,381 nat | 4.6%Survey yield |
| #8 | 53713Madison | A 66#1,399 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| #9 | 53711Fitchburg | A 65#1,482 nat | 4.0%Survey yield |
| #9 | 54915Appleton | A 65#1,482 nat | 4.6%Survey yield |
| #11 | 54703Eau Claire | A 65#1,649 nat | 5.2%Survey yield |
| #12 | 54701Eau Claire | A 64#1,869 nat | 4.3%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in Wisconsin
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54149Mountain | 69#3,179 nat | 9.4%Survey yield |
| 2 | 54856Mason | 68#3,505 nat | 8.1%Survey yield |
| 3 | 54526Ingram | 65#4,251 nat | 8.7%Survey yield |
| 4 | 54515Catawba | 62#4,910 nat | 12.3%Survey yield |
| 5 | 53936Grand Marsh | 61#5,264 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| 6 | 54896Winter | 61#5,264 nat | 5.7%Survey yield |
| 7 | 54530Hawkins | 61#5,296 nat | 8.1%Survey yield |
| 8 | 54664Viola | 58#6,302 nat | 7.3%Survey yield |
| 9 | 53206Milwaukee | 58#6,407 nat | 14.4%Survey yield |
| 10 | 54746Humbird | 56#7,135 nat | 9.4%Survey yield |
| 11 | 54119Dunbar | 55#7,487 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| 12 | 54556Prentice | 55#7,562 nat | 6.9%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in Wisconsin
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 53713Madison | 82#106 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| 2 | 53715Madison | 82#123 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| 3 | 53726Madison | 81#166 nat | 2.5%Survey yield |
| 4 | 53228Greenfield | 80#221 nat | 5.7%Survey yield |
| 5 | 53703Madison | 80#260 nat | 3.8%Survey yield |
| 6 | 53717Madison | 78#518 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| 7 | 54136Kimberly | 76#711 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 8 | 53562Middleton | 76#731 nat | 3.4%Survey yield |
| 9 | 54467Plover | 76#759 nat | 4.8%Survey yield |
| 10 | 53130Hales Corners | 76#779 nat | 5.2%Survey yield |
| 11 | 54603La Crosse | 75#880 nat | 6.4%Survey yield |
| 12 | 54495Wisconsin Rapids | 75#976 nat | 7.2%Survey yield |