Kenosha County, Wisconsin Eviction Risk: Low

Kenosha County carries an average eviction-risk score of 3.2/10 (Moderate) across its 8 incorporated places, placing it 4th of 72 counties in Wisconsin, meaning only 3 counties statewide carry higher risk. That ranking puts landlords here squarely in the higher-risk third of the state, a fact worth weighing against the county's average asking rent of $1,231 and a rent-burden rate of 28.4%, both of which hint at a tenant base that is financially stretched relative to housing costs.

The intra-county range, 3.9 to 4.8, is narrow enough that no single neighborhood is radically safer than another, but the spread is still meaningful when you are underwriting individual properties. With about 34.7% of households renting, the market is large enough to attract investors, yet the combination of a moderate risk score and that rent-burden figure counsels a careful look at each submarket before committing capital.

The cities inside Kenosha County

The highest-risk jurisdiction in the county is Pleasant Prairie at 4.8/10, a rapidly growing community of 21,669 people where the risk score sits a full half-point above the county floor. Immediately behind it is the county seat, Kenosha, home to 99,372 residents and carrying a score of 3.2/10. Together, these two cities account for the overwhelming share of the county's rental housing stock, so the headline 4.5 average is largely a reflection of conditions in Kenosha eviction risk itself. Salem Lakes, Twin Lakes, and Lily Lake each score 4.4/10, while Somers comes in at 4.3/10.

The lower-risk tier is defined by Bristol at 3.9/10 and Paddock Lake at 4.0/10. Both are smaller communities with populations of 5,207 and 2,947, respectively, and while their scores are meaningfully better than Pleasant Prairie's, the gap is not so wide that investors can assume a dramatically different operating environment. Risk in Kenosha County is decidedly hyper-local, and a single-digit score difference across a few miles of territory can translate to real differences in vacancy rates, collection challenges, and litigation exposure.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Kenosha County operate under Wisconsin state law, specifically Wis. Stat. § 704 (Landlord and Tenant). For non-payment of rent, the required notice period is 5 days. Lease violations that the tenant may cure trigger a 14-day notice, and a no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days. Once a case is filed, an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested matter can stretch from 45 to 120 days. Understanding the full Wisconsin eviction process before you place a tenant avoids the costly surprises that catch unprepared landlords off guard.

Direct out-of-pocket costs are a real line item. Court filing fees run $95 to $175, sheriff lockout fees add another $50 to $150, and attorney fees commonly range from $500 to $3,000, depending on complexity. Wisconsin eviction costs therefore span a wide band, and contested cases at the upper end of attorney billing can approach $3,325 in hard costs before lost rent is counted. On the regulatory side, Wisconsin does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy and the state preempts local rent-control ordinances, so landlords face no local caps on rents here.

With an average poverty rate of 11% and roughly one in three households renting, the financial margin for many Kenosha County tenants is thin; landlords should review the city-by-city risk grid above to identify which specific markets within the county warrant the greatest underwriting scrutiny.