by Chesnie Wardell, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
May 4, 2026

Housing instability for young adults in Milwaukee is a growing problem. Looking for solutions, young adults, residents and leaders gathered at Wellpoint Care Network in late April to discuss systemic gaps and realities young adults face with renting and homeownership. 

“Homeownership is a privilege when it shouldn’t be,” Tamia Abney, youth-coordinated entry liaison at Pathfinders, said.

The convening challenged members to think of possible solutions to the young adult housing crisis.

Basic needs aren’t being met

A 2024 Wisconsin Policy Forum study revealed that half of Milwaukee renters are using at least 30% of their income to keep a roof over their heads. 

In 2024, the average monthly rent in Milwaukee was $1,177. Workers in common jobs like fast food, retail, nursing assistants and other occupations earn between $28,000 and $44,000 a year, and can only afford approximately $720 to $1,100 in rent, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum. 

“Those are important jobs that make up most of our society,” Abney said. “The income isn’t meeting the needs to pay for their living.” 

During the convening at Wellpoint Care Network, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said there are young people who have decent jobs and still struggle with affordable housing.

“When you make that first good job out of college and make a certain dollar amount, everybody thinks you have it when that’s not the case,” Johnson said. “I lived it, too.”

Milwaukee housing shortage

One reason for the high rent prices in Milwaukee is that the number of people needing homes is growing faster than the number of housing units available. 

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Milwaukee’s households increased by 17,335 between 2010 and 2024, but only 11,038 housing units were available, leaving an underproduction of 6,297 units. 

“There’s a shortage for low-income families because somebody else has already snatched it away from them,” said Carl Mueller, founder and chairman of Mueller Communications.

The mayor, who declared 2026 the year of housing in Milwaukee, said the city is working to increase housing supply so rent can become cheaper and change how tax dollars are being used to support young professionals.

“We still invest in affordable housing, but what we’ve done now is open it up to make investments in workforce housing, so young professionals don’t end up in situations where they’re spending 30% of their income, too,” Johnson said. 

Mueller and other community members suggested the city build developments similar to NeuVue and ThriveOn King, which bring housing and community resources together. 

Additional challenges

Another reason for the local housing shortage is that residential projects take the longest to get approved.

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the median time it takes for a Milwaukee building project to go from zoning to final building permit approval is 145 days, but for residential projects it takes about 224 days. 

Johnson said when he came into office, he challenged the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services to speed up the permit process.

“I think if we had been more aggressive and if we had cut more red tape over the years then a lot of the development that’s happening in some of the surrounding communities would have happened in the city,” Johnson said. 

Johnson added that Milwaukee’s zoning policies need to be updated so more properties can be built. 

“We haven’t had a wholescale zoning policy since John Norquist was mayor,” he said.

A need for a better quality of living

Al Smith, chief operating officer at Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, said youths, families and young adults are living in places with high rent prices but are experiencing poor conditions – lead issues and infestations among them. 

“Some are paying up to $1,500 a month for places they don’t want to live in, but it was the only option they were left with,” Smith said. “We need a better quality of housing stock.”

Iasia Sawyer, 21, and a member of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council and participant of the Youth Transitioning to Adulthood program, said she’s already in her second apartment and has faced ongoing challenges with her landlord over mold and pipes.

Housing stability creates positive impact

Al Smith, chief operating officer at Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, said youths, families and young adults are living in places with high rent prices but are experiencing poor conditions – lead issues and infestations among them. 

“Some are paying up to $1,500 a month for places they don’t want to live in, but it was the only option they were left with,” Smith said. “We need a better quality of housing stock.”

Iasia Sawyer, 21, and a member of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council and participant of the Youth Transitioning to Adulthood program, said she’s already in her second apartment and has faced ongoing challenges with her landlord over mold and pipes. 

Housing stability creates positive impact 

Smith said more young adults and families in stable housing would bring an increase in graduation rates and other benefits. 

“When I think about education or even kids having to switch schools constantly, there’s no stability in that,” he said. 

Johnson recalled how traumatizing it felt when he had to attend six different Milwaukee Public Schools throughout his childhood because of housing instability. 

“As mayor, I’m working to make sure that more kids in Milwaukee have the stability that I didn’t have growing up,” Johnson said. “It’s not just about housing support; you guys are also providing the foundation for everything else in life.”

Homeownership can be attainable for young adults

Smith said he found it disheartening to know there are some who have no desire to become a homeowner. 

“If you’ve seen multiple generations of your family that were only renters and never owned a home, they don’t think homeownership is a possibility for them,” he said. 

He said the best way to encourage young adults into homeownership is through community support to address credit, bankruptcies and other barriers so they can make the adjustments to become eligible to buy a home.

At Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, Smith said they are teaching individuals how to financially prepare for homeownership. 

According to Smith, it takes about $275,000 for the organization to build a home, and families who participate in the program only pay about $150,000 for their first mortgage. The program provides additional financial support to help keep monthly payments affordable.

“You’ll also get the benefit of building wealth and equity into that,” Smith said. 

Sawyer said she wants young people navigating adulthood to know that although finding stable and quality housing is a challenge, it can be attainable. 

“There are people who are ready to give up because they don’t have the right support around them for their situation,” she said. “Now it’s about moving forward.”

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A Minneapolis restaurant in the North Loop is testing smaller plates and lower prices as it looks for a way to bring more diners back.

Salt and Flour started testing the new menu this week. The full menu, with prices capped at $15 and many items in the $10 range, goes into effect next week.

The summer menu includes fire-kissed pizza and grilled octopus. Owner Brian Ingram said the lower prices are meant to attract bigger crowds as consumers cut back due to rising unemployment and inflation.

“We need people to start dining out more often,” said Brian Ingram.

“As we did our market research and looked at what could make you dine out more often, we thought the $15-$20 mark, maybe that is the sweet spot,” said Ingram.

Ingram said he needs customers to start eating out again if he is going to stay open. He said the restaurant has 50 employees and empty tables.

“We’ve got 50 employees and an empty restaurant. How do you bring people back and make them feel comfortable about coming back?” said Ingram.

John Spry, a finance and economics expert at the University of St. Thomas’s Opus College of Business, said the move is one way restaurants can stand out in this economy. He said more businesses are being forced to get creative and aggressive, and that can benefit customers.

“This is a form of differentiation. This is a common business strategy,” said John Spry.

“You are getting the quality of their chef, but smaller plates at a smaller price point,” said Spry.

Ingram said other restaurants are also trying to figure out how to adjust to current conditions. He said Salt and Flour plans to keep the pricing strategy through the summer.

“We have to figure out how to exist in this place, and that goes for every restaurant out there. How do you live in this new world?” said Ingram.

INDIANAPOLIS — The victim of Sunday morning’s shootout on the north side of Indianapolis has been identified as 38-year-old Brittany Marie Members.

Two other people were wounded at a short-term rental property at 40^th Street and Park Avenue when an SUV full of gunmen opened fire on the house where Members’ daughter was hosting an after-prom party.

Approximately 100 shell casings from multiple guns were discovered at the scene as the result of three volleys of gunfire — two from the assailants and one from the people at the house.

A photograph from earlier in the evening showed three partygoers displaying four guns — two of them large semi-automatic rifles with banana clips — standing in front of party decorations.

Area residents told FOX59/CBS4 that party planners returned to the home Sunday night and removed the decorations nearly 24 hours after the early morning shooting.

“It was pure pandemonium, it was scary, it was terrifying, and I would have likened it to some type of war movie,” said Brandi Mitchell, a neighbor who awoke to a bullet hole in the front window of her home at 1 a.m. Sunday. “We heard a lot of yelling, a lot of screaming, so we just knew at that point it was gunfire, and I just immediately took cover.”

Neighborhood security video obtained by FOX59/CBS4 recorded the sounds of gunfire, people fleeing the scene on foot and a white SUV that rolled backward up Park Avenue after the first round of shots, headed back toward the house for a second volley and appeared to drive in reverse again after the partygoers fired back.

Mitchell said neighbors have recognized that the large yellow house across the street has been utilized as a short-term rental since early 2025, and while there was no previous trouble, she became uneasy as Saturday night rolled on and more young people arrived at the address.

“But as the night progressed, there were more and more people showing up, and we were getting a little agitated because it’s a lot of people,” Mitchell said. “And when there’s a lot of people, and didn’t look like a lot of supervision after those hours, it could get a little scary.”

The City’s Office of Public Health and Safety will deploy violence interrupters to reach out to victims and the community in an attempt to quell any potential retaliation.

“We don’t want that one shooting to become four, and we don’t want that one homicide to become four,” said Deputy Public Safety Director Tony Lopez.

In the coming days, Lopez’s staff will be “engaging with the family, engaging with others, trying to figure out if retaliation is possible, where’s the retaliation coming from.”

Lopez said warmer weather and springtime or end-of-school celebrations bring more parties to short-term rental properties around Indianapolis, making it challenging to monitor and follow up on violence that occasionally occurs.

City officials have indicated it is likely the owner of the Park Avenue property may face a fine for failing to register his short-term rental location with the Bureau of Neighborhood Services.