Fair Housing for Milwaukee County: We Can End Housing Voucher Segregation
October 23, 2025
Everyone deserves a safe place to live, regardless of race, zip code, or what lawful income they use to pay for it. But in Milwaukee County, families using Housing Choice Vouchers (“Section 8”) still face discrimination, despite a 2018 law that was supposed to protect them (Ch. 107.01). Without real enforcement, voucher holders remain concentrated in majority-Black and Brown neighborhoods, fueling segregation.
In the map of Milwaukee County below, the census tracts with the largest share of Black people appear in dark green, while the areas with the least amount of Black people are in light green. The numbers in red are the census tracts with 100 or more voucher holder families. Tracts with black numbers have 50-99 families with vouchers and those with less than 50 are in white. It’s very clear that the areas with the highest number of voucher holders are in majority-Black neighborhoods.
In fact, of 20 census tracts in the County with over 100 families with vouchers, only one is majority-white.1 Decades of research tracking segregation has taught us that resources follow the white population, while policymakers consistently make decisions that push environmental and health hazards into Black and Brown neighborhoods. Sadly, that pattern holds true in Milwaukee, where the census tracts with the highest concentrations of voucher families also align with areas with the highest levels of childhood asthma hospitalizations (in dark purple on the map below).2
Nearly half (45%) of Milwaukee County renters are cost-burdened and have little hope of saving to become a homeowner. In such a difficult time, it’s essential that the County’s largest affordable housing program be free of discrimination.
Two Easy Steps Toward Ending Voucher Segregation
- Milwaukee County must enforce its Source of Income protection law, just like Dane County already does.
- Milwaukee County should increase the funding for undercover investigations to hold landlords accountable.
The Redress Movement is partnering with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council to advocate for the solutions above. If you’ve used a Housing Choice Voucher (“Section 8”) and had a landlord tell you they don’t accept it or discourage you from applying, share your story with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council by contacting them here.
Together, as voucher holders, residents, and allies, we can build power and demand a voucher program that delivers on real choices for families, free from discrimination.
Take the Pledge:
✅ I believe every family deserves the right to choose where they live.
✅ I support enforcing Milwaukee County’s fair housing law.
✅ I want the County to fund enforcement and stop voucher discrimination.
Endnotes:
1Redress Movement Analysis of 2022 HUD Picture of Subsidized Households, 2020 U.S. Census data.
2Redress Movement Analysis of 2024 Children’s Wisconsin childhood asthma hospitalization and 2022 HUD Picture of Subsidized Households data.
