Milwaukee is Wisconsin’s largest city and one of the best two-family markets in the Midwest. The “Milwaukee duplex” — an upper and lower flat stacked on one lot, usually built between about 1900 and 1930 — lines whole blocks on the East Side, in Bay View, Riverwest, Washington Heights and across the south side. Side-by-side duplexes, Polish flats (a raised cottage with a second unit below) and small four-family buildings round out the inventory.
Because so many of these buildings were built for owner-occupants, a Milwaukee duplex is a common first investment: live in one unit, rent the other, and let the rent help pay the mortgage. Prices, rents, taxes and building condition vary widely from neighborhood to neighborhood, so Carole Wehner looks at each property’s actual rent roll and expenses rather than citywide averages. Choose a neighborhood below, or use the price-range grid to see what is for sale across the city right now.
Duplexes and investment property for sale in Milwaukee
The quick-links grid shows how many properties are for sale right now in each price range. Click any number to see those listings.
| Property type | All prices | Under $150K | $150K–$250K | $250K–$350K | $350K–$500K | $500K+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duplexes (two-family) | 304 | 90 | 120 | 57 | 28 | 9 |
| Duplexes – both units 2+ BR | 276 | 78 | 114 | 52 | 24 | 8 |
| Duplexes – both units 3+ BR | 84 | 12 | 44 | 16 | 8 | 4 |
| Multi-family (3+ units) | 74 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 24 | 21 |
| Single-family homes | 769 | 169 | 278 | 227 | 72 | 23 |
| Condominiums | 241 | 49 | 41 | 45 | 35 | 71 |
No active listings right now: commercial & mixed-use.
Milwaukee by the numbers
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024 5-year estimates), The City of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, has a population of 566,973, with a median age of 32.4. The median household income is $54,234 a year.
The median value of an owner-occupied home in the City of Milwaukee is $184,000. 41.8% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners and 58.2% are rented — a renter-majority market with a deep pool of tenants. Renters pay a median gross rent (rent plus utilities) of $1,059 a month, which works out to annual rent of about 6.9% of the median home value — a quick, rough gauge of how rents compare with prices here, not a substitute for a property’s own rent roll and expenses.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Estimates. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Map of properties for sale
Official website: city.milwaukee.gov