Menominee County, Wisconsin Eviction Risk: Low

Menominee County sits in the higher-risk tier of Wisconsin's 72 counties despite carrying a 3.7/10 (Low) score on Eviction Risk Map's composite index. That apparent contradiction reflects how Menominee's social and economic profile - 21% poverty, a 29.4% renter share, and average rents of just $633 per month - stacks up against statutory protections that Wisconsin extends uniformly statewide. The county ranks 34th of 72 Wisconsin counties, meaning only 33 county statewide scores higher on tenant-protectiveness, while 38 counties are less risky for landlords to operate in. For a county of only 4,257 residents - the smallest county in Wisconsin - that placement reflects concentrated vulnerability rather than broad housing-market pressures.

Scores within Menominee County span 3.2 to 4.6/10, a tighter band than most Wisconsin counties. Lakewood is the highest-risk community at 3.2/10, followed closely by Keshena at 4.6/10 - the county seat and largest community by most measures. Neopit, home to 623 residents in the county's interior, sits at 3.6/10, right at the county average. Legend Lake, the most populous community at 1,717 residents, scores 3.2/10. Middle Village comes in at 3.2/10, while Zoar, the county's smallest community with only 89 residents, sits at the low end at 3.2/10. The narrow spread between top and bottom means landlords face broadly similar conditions across communities rather than the wide variation seen in larger, more economically diverse counties.

The county's economic context drives much of its risk profile. A 21% poverty rate means a significant share of renters operate without financial reserves, making nonpayment of rent the most common eviction trigger here under the 5-day notice required by Wis. Stat. § 704. Wisconsin's landlord-tenant statute is uniformly applied statewide - there is no local rent control, no source-of-income protection, and no just-cause requirement for termination. Landlords must give 12 hours' notice before entry, 14 days to cure lease violations, and 30 days' notice for no-cause termination. Court filing fees run $95 to $175, and uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days - a relatively fast pipeline compared to many markets nationally. Contested cases extend to 45 to 120 days, which is where attorneys ($500 to $3,000 typical range) become material to cost. Against the Wisconsin average of 3.9/10, Menominee's 3.7/10 reflects the combined weight of its economic demographics more than any elevated statutory complexity.

Menominee County is a federally recognized tribal homeland - the Menominee Indian Reservation occupies nearly all of its land area. Housing turnover is lower than in comparable rural Wisconsin eviction laws counties, and the rental stock is predominantly older single-family and multi-unit tribal housing. Average rent of $633/month is well below the Wisconsin eviction laws statewide figure, and rent burden at 18.3% is moderate relative to urban Wisconsin eviction laws - but that figure sits against a 21% poverty rate, meaning the absolute dollar gap between income and rent is narrower than the percentage suggests. Landlords operating here should be aware that tribal jurisdiction questions can complicate eviction enforcement on reservation land for non-tribal landlords; consult qualified Wisconsin eviction laws legal counsel before initiating proceedings.