Oneida County, Wisconsin Eviction Risk: Low

Oneida County sits in Wisconsin's Northwoods lake country and earns a 3.6/10 (Low) eviction risk score, placing it 46th out of 72 Wisconsin eviction laws counties by risk level -- firmly in the middle of the state. With 45 counties carrying higher risk scores and only 26 counties below it, Oneida represents one of the more landlord-accessible rental environments in Wisconsin eviction laws. The county's risk range spans 3.2 to 4.1, reflecting variation across a small set of communities rather than a sweeping urban-rural divide.

The county seat, Rhinelander (population 8,316), anchors nearly all of the county's 9,993 tracked renters and scores 3.6/10 -- right at the county average. Rhinelander's rental market is defined by modest rents averaging $799 per month and a 27.7% rent burden rate, well below the 30% threshold generally considered financially stressed. That combination of affordable rents and limited tenant-protection law keeps risk contained. Smaller communities around the lakes show tighter spreads: Minocqua scores 3.8/10 and Three Lakes scores 3.2/10, both serving seasonal and year-round renters in a market where vacancy rates are shaped as much by tourism as by housing demand. Woodruff, at 3.6/10, is the lowest-risk community tracked in the county. Lake Tomahawk stands apart at 4.1/10 -- the county's highest individual score, driven by a combination of tighter housing supply and a smaller permanent renter base that amplifies any volatility in eviction filings.

Across all five tracked communities, 34.8% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and 12.4% of residents live below the poverty line -- both figures below Wisconsin's statewide averages, which helps explain why Oneida lands in the lower end of the state's risk distribution. Wisconsin's landlord-tenant framework under Wis. Stat. § 704 is uniformly landlord-friendly: no just-cause requirement for non-renewal, no rent control (and state law actively preempts local rent control ordinances), and a 5-day pay-or-vacate notice period for non-payment of rent -- one of the shortest in the Midwest. For landlords operating in Oneida County, the procedural environment is predictable and low-friction, with uncontested evictions typically resolving in 21-45 days and court filing fees running $95-$175.

Oneida County's Low risk profile is rooted in below-average rent burden (27.7%), a relatively low poverty rate (12.4%), and a state legal framework that strongly favors landlord procedural rights -- including a 5-day nonpayment notice, no just-cause mandate, and statewide preemption of local rent control. The county's small renter population of roughly 9,993 tracked residents spreads across resort and lake communities where housing demand is partly seasonal, moderating year-round eviction pressure.