How many subsidized housing units are available in Wisconsin?
Data updated August 27, 2024
About 78,440 in 2023. Approximately 14% of these were unoccupied and available to rent. 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).
Showing data for
In 2023
78.4K
subsidized housing units existed in Wisconsin
In 2023
11K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2023
14%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
There were about 66,985 occupied subsidized housing units in 2022, and around 794,668 occupied rental units — subsidized and unsubsidized — in Wisconsin. That means 8.4% of all occupied rentals in Wisconsin were provided by housing assistance programs. In 2022, 15% of all subsidized units in Wisconsin were vacant, compared with 4.2% of all rental properties.
The number of available subsidized housing units varies across different regions in Wisconsin. These units are administered by local public housing authorities (PHAs). Availability is shaped by local policy, geography (e.g., urban vs. rural vs. suburban), and need.
In 2023, Ashland County had the most subsidized housing units per 10K people.
Subsidized housing can take different forms — from high-rise buildings to garden-style apartments to single-family dwellings, duplexes, and more — but all are accessed via eight different housing assistance programs under HUD. These are classified as either public housing; tenant-based programs; or privately-owned, project-based housing.
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Tenant-based programs — known today as the Housing Choice Voucher program — were the most common form of housing assistance, providing 34,601 housing units in Wisconsin in 2023. Housing vouchers allow recipients to choose their own housing in the private market, provided it meets program requirements. These account for 44% of the subsidized housing stock in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, tenant-based programs are less common than in the US, where they account for approximately 54% of the subsidized housing stock.
Tenant assistance was the most common type of housing program in 2023.
Privately-owned, project-based programs provide subsidized housing in larger, multifamily housing developments through agreements between landlords and HUD, and account for 43.2% of all subsidized housing in Wisconsin.
The remainder of subsidized units — 12.7% of the total — are public housing, where units are built and managed by local housing agencies.
