Homeowners across the city are speaking out in frustration about this year’s property assessments.
One South Side homeowner, Andrea Rodriguez, said her assessment went up more than $30,000 this year. She is not alone.
Data from the city showed an increase of 6.4% in assessed values compared to last year with homeowners in some aldermanic districts seeing jumps of over 12%. Homeowners in the 7th District, which is represented by Ald. DiAndre Jackson, saw their assessments increase by an average of 13%, while those in Ald. Russell Stamper’s 15th District saw theirs rise by 12.6%. Both districts are located on the city’s North Side.
Rodriguez said she believes the increases highlight broader concerns about affordability, displacement and systemic inequities in Milwaukee’s housing landscape.
Although she said she was not surprised when she opened her assessment notice, that didn’t make it any easier to accept.
“I always open that bill with hesitancy,” she said. “It’s never a feeling of ‘this will be reasonable.’”
Rodriguez purchased her home in 2024 using a federal HUD loan through a program designed to help first-time buyers access homeownership. While she supports efforts to expand homeownership opportunities, she said the reality for many buyers is far more complicated.
“I was paying about 45% of my income toward my mortgage right from the start,” she said. “That’s well above the standard 30% that’s considered sustainable.”
Everyday impact
While it’s not always the case, higher property assessment can translate into increased property taxes, which Rodriguez said affects both homeowners and renters.
“When landlords face rising costs, those increases get passed down through rent,” she said. “This impacts entire neighborhoods.”
Rodriguez, who lives not far from Bay View, also said that new development can be a double-edged sword. While it can increase property values, it also contributes to rising costs that make it harder for long-term residents to stay.
“I don’t come from generational wealth,” she said. “So, yes, investment in neighborhoods is exciting, but it raises questions about who gets to remain here.”
Systemic issue
Homeowner Sharon Chaney said she was disappointed in her assessment not only because of the rise but also the inaccuracy.
“My home is listed as 26 square feet larger than it is,” Chaney said. “I can’t help but think how many others have the city done that to and what is the remedy.”
Heather Dummer Combs is a program director at Take Root Milwaukee, a group of housing agencies working together to ensure sustainable housing in Milwaukee. She said questions about assessments have become increasingly common in recent years.
“There has been a bit of a concern about understanding the assessment process for a couple of years,” she said.
Dummer Combs said housing organizations have worked to educate themselves and residents after hearing repeated concerns from homeowners about rising property values and confusion over how assessments are calculated.
“We really needed to educate the residents and homeowners to make sure they understand what an assessment is and isn’t, how it potentially affects their property taxes, and what they can do about it,” she said.
She said residents frequently question why assessments can vary dramatically between neighborhoods, or even between homes on the same block.
“It’s interesting to me the differences in terms of the rise of property assessments from one area of the city to another, or even from one house to another within the same neighborhood,” Dummer Combs said.
She said homeowners should review the information the assessor’s office has on file for their homes, particularly details about renovations or upgrades that may not be correct.
Calls for transparency
Rodriguez said she believes frustrations about assessments should not be directed solely at elected officials, as they operate with constraints set by the law.
She points to Wisconsin’s “uniformity clause,” a longstanding provision requiring property to be taxed uniformly, as a deeper structural issue.
“On paper, it sounds fair,” she said. “But historically, it has locked in inequities rather than correcting them.”
She also says people deserve to know how their money is being spent.
“People want to understand where their money is going and how it’s improving their neighborhoods,” she said. “That transparency matters.”
City budget
The finalized 2026 City of Milwaukee budget includes a property tax levy of approximately $340 million, part of a total $2.07 billion budget. The tax levy, which reflects a 3.9% increase from the previous year, constitutes roughly 16.4% of the total budget.
In 2025, residential values increased 14.4% and commercial values increased 17.1% over values in 2024.
Dummer Combs encourages homeowners to consider appealing their assessments. Not necessarily because it will lead to immediate changes, but because it can help build data for future policy discussions.
Both Rodriguez and Chaney are appealing their assessments.
“It’s just not fair how they can come in, not verify and tax to the max,” Chaney said. “And then there is such a short window of time to appeal that most people just give up.”
Appealing your assessment
Dummer Combs said that residents have the right to ask questions about their assessments and should not hesitate to contact the assessor’s office.
“They can go into the office, they can make a phone call, they can ask an assessor using the form on their website,” she said.
But she also emphasized that homeowners have a limited amount of time to challenge assessments.
“It is important for them to know that they have until May 18,” she said. “It’s a very short window of time that they have to ask those questions and ultimately choose to appeal.”
You can reach the assessor’s office at its website.
“They don’t make it easy to appeal,” Rodriguez said. “I could see an elderly person having a lot of issues with this process and it is the recommended way to go.”
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