About one in six people in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, lives below the poverty line
In Milwaukee County, 16.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Milwaukee County's score
In Milwaukee County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 381.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 75.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Milwaukee County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Milwaukee County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (12.9%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (19.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.6% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people381.1 · 202595th percentile
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- 75.5 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent23.6% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.9% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
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- 68.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.6% · second quarter of 202658th percentile
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- 53.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.5% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,339 · 202451st percentile
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- 49.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.4% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Milwaukee County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Milwaukee County, 14.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Milwaukee County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Milwaukee County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 18.0% in 2004 to 23.2% in 2009.
In Milwaukee County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Milwaukee County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 14.8% in 2011 to 20.0% in 2013, 2.6 points each year.
The share of households in Milwaukee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 20.5%
Low on the chart: 10.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
How Milwaukee County has changed
Milwaukee County's population fell 12% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 972,060. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Milwaukee County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 529,031 in 2000 to 490,922 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Milwaukee County fell 13% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 529,031 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,748 | 2024 $66,339 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Milwaukee County's history
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 1,054,063. The 2020 Census counted 939,489, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1970
Milwaukee County population peaked in relative importance in Wisconsin during 1930s-1960s when about 25% of the state's population resided there, then has been shrinking since 1970. Wikipedia
1997
A flash flood in June 1997 did $78.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in June 2008 did $77.97 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in July 2010 did $24.1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flash flood in August 2025 did $60 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Milwaukee County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Milwaukee County beside its neighbors
Milwaukee County scores higher than all three counties that border it. Of the group, Milwaukee County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (22.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee County, WI | 76 | 16.8% | 22.8% |
| Racine County, WI | 41 | 11.7% | 20.7% |
| Waukesha County, WI | 2 | 5.5% | 13.0% |
| Ozaukee County, WI | 0 | 5.4% | 11.9% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Milwaukee County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Milwaukee County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 2nd highest of 72 in Wisconsin (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Menominee County, at 24.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Milwaukee County ranks 2nd of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Milwaukee County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Acts Housing
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Housing Resources, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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NSC (NACA Counseling Subsidiary) - Milwaukee, WI
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee
Legal aid
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Legal Action of Wisconsin
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Milwaukee County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Milwaukee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.