Dunn County, Wisconsin Eviction Risk: Moderate

Dunn County, Wisconsin eviction laws earns an average eviction-risk score of 4.1/10 (Moderate) across its 11 tracked cities, placing it at rank 9 of 72 Wisconsin eviction laws counties, meaning only 8 counties carry higher risk and 63 are less risky or more landlord-friendly. That puts Dunn County squarely in the higher-risk third of the state, a signal landlords should weigh carefully before acquiring rental property here. With an average rent of $960 and a rent burden averaging 26.8% of tenant income, the market is not exceptionally stressed by national standards, but a poverty rate of 16.1% adds real collection risk to any portfolio.

The intra-county spread runs from 4.1/10 at the low end to 4.1/10 at the high end, a meaningful 1.3-point gap that illustrates how differently two neighboring communities can perform. Landlords who treat Dunn County as a single market will mis-price risk on both sides of that range. Nearly half the county's occupied units are renter-occupied, with a renter share averaging 49.4%, which indicates a sizeable tenant base but also a competitive environment where vacancy costs are real.

The cities inside Dunn County

Menomonie anchors the county and also concentrates the most risk. With a population of 16,539, it is by far the largest city in the county and carries the highest score at 4.1/10. Because most of the county's renter population lives there, a landlord whose entire portfolio sits in Menomonie eviction risk is exposed to conditions well above the county average. Boyceville is the next concern, scoring 3.5/10 with a population of 1,083. Elk Mound lands at an even 3.9/10, still above the county average.

On the lower end, Wheeler scores just 3.7/10 and Ridgeland and Colfax both sit at 4/10, making them among the more predictable operating environments in the county. Tainter Lake and Knapp each score 4.1/10. The takeaway is that risk is genuinely hyper-local here: the same county line encloses communities that differ by a full point on the risk scale, and city-level due diligence matters far more than the county average.

State-level laws that apply here

Under Wisconsin state law (Wis. Stat. § 704, Landlord and Tenant), landlords must serve a 5-day notice for non-payment of rent, a 14-day notice for a lease violation with an opportunity to cure, and a 30-day notice to terminate at the end of a lease term without cause. Once a case is filed, an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; contested proceedings stretch to 45 to 120 days. Court filing fees run $95 to $175, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $150, and attorney fees typically range from $500 to $3,000, so total out-of-pocket costs for a litigated eviction can reach several thousand dollars. Understanding the full Wisconsin eviction laws eviction process before your first filing prevents costly procedural missteps.

Wisconsin eviction laws does not impose rent control, and state law expressly preempts any local municipality from enacting it. Just-cause requirements for terminating a tenancy are also absent under current Wisconsin eviction laws law, giving landlords meaningful flexibility at lease end. There is no cap on security deposits under state statute, though landlords should review Wisconsin security deposit limits guidance for the associated documentation and return-deadline requirements enforced by the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division.

With a poverty rate of 16.1% and a renter share of 49.4%, Dunn County's baseline conditions warrant city-by-city underwriting; the individual city scores in the grid above reflect those local differences more precisely than the county average alone.