How many people live in subsidized housing in Wisconsin?
Data updated August 27, 2024
About 114,787 people in 2023, or about 1.7 people per unit. Subsidized housing options vary by location, ranging from high-rise or garden-style apartments to single-family dwellings, duplexes, and more. On average, residents have lived in their units for 87 months.
Showing data for
In 2023
115K
people lived in subsidized housing in Wisconsin
In 2023
1.9%
of the Wisconsin population lived in subsidized housing
Federally subsidized rental housing began with 1937’s US Housing Act, which created the United States Housing Authority and provided financial assistance to state and local governments for housing low-income people. Since then, the government has provided housing assistance to low-income renters through programs overseen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
In Ashland County, 4.1% of people live in subsidized housing, the most of any county in Wisconsin.
Share of population living in subsidized housing in 2023, by county
People who live in subsidized housing share one thing: incomes low enough to qualify for housing assistance. In 2023, HUD classified 96% of households in subsidized housing as very low income and 76% as extremely low income. The average household in subsidized housing earned $16,543 in annual income. Across all subsidized housing, 72% of households earned less than $20,000.
42% of households with subsidies earned $10K–$15K in annual income.
Wisconsin, 2023
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Renters in subsidized housing in Wisconsin earn income from different sources. Welfare is the main income source for 1% of households. According to HUD and the Census Bureau, “welfare” includes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, general assistance, or emergency assistance payments. Another 18% of households earn the majority of their income through wages, salaries, and business income. Finally, for 77% of households living in subsidized housing, the majority of income comes from other sources, a broad category that includes Social Security payments; insurance benefits; pensions; interest or dividends; and payments in lieu of salary like worker’s compensation, severance, unemployment, or disability. The remaining 4% of households is unaccounted for in the data.
Welfare assistance programs were the primary source of income for 1% of households in subsidized housing.
Wisconsin, 2023
Households living in subsidized housing contribute to their rent. In 2023, households living in subsidized housing in Wisconsin paid average monthly rent of $386, which translates to an average of $4,632 per year, or 28% of the average household’s annual income. HUD contributed $596 per household per month, on average.
Households that qualify for subsidies have a variety of family structures. HUD data focuses on homes with children, female-headed households, and households that include people with disabilities. In 2023:
- 26% of households had one or more children under 18 years, and about 92% of these were headed by single parents.
- 70% of households were headed by women, and 23% were headed by women with children.
- 32% of all people living in subsidized housing had a disability.
In addition, 41% of households that lived in subsidized housing were headed by people belonging to minority groups, which the Census Bureau defines as anyone whose race and ethnicity is anything other than “white alone, non-Hispanic.”
People of all ages receive housing assistance.
Subsidized households were most often headed by those 62 and older.
Wisconsin, 2023
Forty-five percent of households living in subsidized housing are headed by people age 62 and older, the youngest age when people can qualify for Social Security. People aged 25 to 50 are considered “prime-age workers,” and households led by this group make up 34% of all households in subsidized housing.
