Ozaukee County, Wisconsin Eviction Risk: Low

Ozaukee County scores 3.5/10 (Low risk) on the EvictionRiskMap scale, placing it among the more landlord-friendly markets in Wisconsin eviction laws. At rank 55 of 72 counties, 54 counties in the state carry higher eviction risk, and only 17 rank more favorably. For investors evaluating the Milwaukee metro's northern suburbs, that reading reflects a county where renter incomes are relatively strong, poverty sits at just 4.6%, and average rent of $1,454 per month sits against an average rent burden of only 27.9% of household income. Conditions here are about as favorable as landlords will find anywhere in the state.

That said, the county's 11 cities do not share equally in that favorable profile. Scores range from 2.6 to 3.8, a full 1.2-point spread that can meaningfully shift expected performance between one ZIP code and the next. Investors who treat Ozaukee County as monolithic risk a miss-priced asset or a surprise vacancy rate. The city-level breakdown matters.

The cities inside Ozaukee County

Saukville (3.7/10, population 4,267) and Port Washington (3.4/10, population 12,645) carry the county's highest eviction risk. Both clear the county average by enough that landlords there should underwrite more conservatively, building in tighter screening standards and slightly longer average vacancy allowances than the headline county score implies. Fredonia (3.4/10) rounds out the top three riskiest markets in the county.

At the other end, Thiensville (3.6/10, population 3,299) and Cedarburg (3.6/10, population 12,605) represent the county's most stable rental environments. Belgium also scores 3.2/10. The county seat of Mequon, the largest city in the county at 25,270 residents, sits exactly at the county average with a 3.4/10. Grafton (3.7/10) is similarly centered. The intra-county spread underscores a principle that holds across every Wisconsin market: risk is hyper-local, and a county average only tells part of the story.

State-level laws that apply here

Landlords in Ozaukee County operate under Wisconsin state law as codified in Wis. Stat. § 704 (Landlord and Tenant). Notice requirements are relatively short: a 5-day notice for non-payment of rent, a 14-day notice for lease violations, and a 30-day notice for end-of-term or no-cause terminations. Wisconsin does not require just cause to end a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent control ordinance, so Ozaukee County landlords face no rent caps. Entry requires at least 12 hours advance notice under state law. For a full walkthrough of how the process unfolds, see the Wisconsin eviction process guide.

The financial cost of an eviction here reflects state court schedules. Court filing fees run $95 to $175, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $150, and attorney fees typically range from $500 to $3,000 depending on complexity. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested matters can stretch to 45 to 120 days. Reviewing Wisconsin eviction costs in detail before year one helps investors build realistic pro formas rather than discovering these numbers mid-dispute.

Ozaukee County's 28.3% renter share and 4.6% poverty rate point to a predominantly owner-occupied, higher-income market where chronic eviction pressure is low -- but the city grid above shows that localized risk concentrations in Saukville and Port Washington eviction laws warrant city-level due diligence before committing capital.