Research News

February 2026 Underserved: Retail Access in Milwaukee County – Minds@UW  

Measuring Neighborhood Socioeconomic Performance In Milwaukee, 1980-2020: An Index-Based Approach – Narae Lee and Joel Rast

UNEQUAL LANDSCAPES Race, Ethnicity, and Environmental Equity in Metro Milwaukee by Nene Osutei, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Joel Rast, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Download the full report here. Read the executive summary here.  

The AALAM/UWMCED Index of African American Well-Being in the Nation’s Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2024 Edition by Marc V. Levine

The Hispanic Collaborative/UWMCED Index of Hispanic Well-Being in the Nation’s Largest Metro Areas, 2024 Update by Marc V. Levine

Wisconsin is currently home to over 331,000 veterans of the US Armed Forces who have served from World War to the present. In this report, we analyze Wisconsin’s veteran population and identify critical gaps across 4 key categories including education, economy, housing, and health.

In 65 charts and tables, this study examines how Black communities in the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas fare on measures such as residential segregation; income, poverty, and intergenerational economic mobility; employment and earnings; the racial composition of private-sector economic decision-makers; mass incarceration; educational attainment; school segregation; and health care outcomes.

This report, prepared for the African American Leadership Alliance MKE (AALAM), presents an index of African American community well-being in Milwaukee and the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas.

Like many other densely populated urban areas, Milwaukee is experiencing a surge of reported COVID-19 cases. On March 12 there was only one confirmed case in Milwaukee County. By April 8 there were 1,425 confirmed cases and 67 deaths. Examining deaths and confirmed cases through April 8, this study finds that stark inequalities are emerging along racial and economic lines. Areas of the county that are predominantly African American are experiencing disproportionately high numbers of reported cases and concentrations of coronavirus clusters, while areas that are predominantly white and higher income are reporting fewer cases and very small numbers of virus clusters. Most important, African Americans who have contracted the virus are developing life-threatening complications at a rate much higher than whites.

The Water Needs Assessment examines current and future conditions of the water workforce in the Metro Milwaukee Area, focusing on employment opportunities provided by water-related agencies and industries for individuals from economically disadvantaged communities.