In court-decided eviction outcomes for Cudahy, WI, tenants prevail in roughly 29.4% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
46d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Cudahy, WI until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 46 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$1.9–4.6k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Cudahy, WI costs landlords $1,945 to $4,615 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,028
28% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Cudahy, WI is $1,028 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 28% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
38.6%
of households
38.6% of occupied housing units in Cudahy, WI are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
11.9%
2.6% unemp.
11.9% of Cudahy, WI residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 2.6%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
Dem margin +38.5% (2024)
7.3
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
7.3
State political climate
Wisconsin legislature & governorship
2.9
Economic stress
11.9% poverty · 2.6% unemp.
5.2
Supply constraint
$1,028 average · 38.6% renters
6.8
Rent Control risk
27.5% of income on rent
4.6
Eviction process difficulty
46 days filing → judgment
2.3
Tenant organizing strength
38.6% renters
7.8
Housing court bias
County bench composition
5.2
Geographic context
Risk heat across Cudahy and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Cudahy compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Milwaukee County
Low
#13of 19 cities
#13 of 19 cities in Milwaukee County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Wisconsin
Elevated
#252of 803 cities
#252 of 803 cities in Wisconsin for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
2.9
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 2.9/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a slow, steady climb.
50-yr trend+0.9 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steady ratchet · no large swings
46d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,028/mo. A contested eviction takes 46 days and costs $1,945–$4,615 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
38.6%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 17,853 residents, 38.6% rent. 28% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 11.9% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
7.3
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 7.3 and 7.3 (Dem margin +38.5% (2024)). State climate at 2.9, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
2.9
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 2.9/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 2.3, housing court bias 5.2, rent-control risk 4.6. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +-2.7 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
5.2
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 5.2. Supply constraint: 6.8. The numbers behind those: 11.9% poverty, 2.6% unemployment, 28% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Cudahy sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Cudahy · 46d · ~$3.3k all-in ($71/day) · score 2.9National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in Cudahy, Wisconsin, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 2.9/10 (LOW tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Mid-tier market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Cudahy is a city of 17,853 residents where 38.6% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 27.5% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,028/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Cudahy eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 2.3/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Cudahy closes 46 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Cudahy's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 5.2/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Cudahy runs $1,945 to $4,615 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1–2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 46 days of typical timeline and $1,028/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 7.8/10 in Cudahy, and the city has limited rent control exposure (4.6/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Wisconsin, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Cudahy: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a LOW tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Wisconsin's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $4,615 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Cudahy
Trap · PRACTICAL TRAP
Cost-versus-timeline trade-off: at 46 days and roughly $4,615 on the high end, cash-for-keys at $1,846 to $2,769 typically beats the legal route for non-aggravated cases. Default judgment frequency is high under Wis. Stat. 704 + ATCP 134.
04Eviction filings
Live filings tracking · Eviction Lab
Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System, county-level. Last update 2026-05-01.
In the most recent month, 918 eviction cases were filed across the tracker's coverage area, 0.83× the historical baseline (below baseline). Past 12 months: 12,773 filings. Pandemic-era cumulative: 70,867.
918Past month
12,773Past 12 months
0.83×vs baseline (past mo)
18.2%Repeat-tenant filings
Notice requirement: at least five days notice (in some cases more). Filing fee: $94.50 filing fee.
Last 36 months of filings2023-05-01 – 2026-04-01
Filings dropped 15% over the past 12 months.
Source: Eviction Lab Tracking System, Princeton University. Open Data Commons Attribution license.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
What's the best way to handle a tenant who's consistently late but always pays eventually?
First, review your lease for late fee clauses and enforce them consistently. If they are always a few days late, serve the 5-day pay-or-quit notice every time the rent isn't paid on time. This establishes a clear pattern of enforcement and shows you're serious. Don't let it slide. You can also consider a lease addendum that shifts the due date slightly if that would help, but ensure it's formally agreed upon.
Q2
Can I evict a tenant for property damage in Cudahy?
Yes, if the damage is significant and violates the lease agreement. You would typically issue a notice to cure or quit, giving the tenant a chance to fix the damage. If they don't, then you can proceed with an eviction filing. Document all damage with photos and dates.
Q3
Are there any specific tenant protections in Cudahy I should know about?
Wisconsin generally has fewer tenant protections than some other states, with no statewide rent control (see Wisconsin rent control rules) or source-of-income protection. However, always be aware of fair housing laws. You cannot discriminate based on protected classes. While Cudahy itself doesn't have unique ordinances that drastically change the state's rules, staying informed on Wisconsin tenant protections is always smart.
Q4
How much notice do I need to give if I want a tenant to move out at the end of their lease?
For a month-to-month tenancy, or if you're not renewing a fixed-term lease, you need to provide a 28-day no-cause termination notice. This notice must be served correctly before the end of the rental period. For example, if you want them out by October 31st, you need to serve the notice by October 3rd.
Q5
Should I offer a payment plan to a tenant who can't pay rent?
It depends. Offering a payment plan can be a way to avoid eviction, but it comes with risks. If you do, get it in writing, clearly outlining payment dates and amounts. Be aware that accepting partial payments can sometimes complicate or delay an eviction if you later need to pursue it. Consult an attorney before agreeing to a payment plan if the tenant is already significantly behind.
A 2.9/10 places Cudahy in the 70th percentile of Wisconsin cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has climbed steadily since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Neighborhoods in Cudahy (1 with eviction-risk data)
Click a neighborhood to see its pop-weighted score, constituent census tracts, and demographics. Sorted by population.
