Milwaukee Among 10 Oldest Apartment Cities In U.S.: RentCafe

MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee ranked No. 7 among cities with the oldest average apartment buildings that are still rented today, the apartment search website RentCafe reported.

Boston, Minneapolis and Cincinnati topped the list of cities with the oldest average apartment buildings that still have renters living in them, the site said. Many livable apartments were built before 1950.

The average age of old apartment buildings in Milwaukee is 97 years old. Milwaukee's oldest rental building is The Colonial, which was built in 1922, city records showed. Old apartment buildings are those originally built in the 19th or 20th century out of brick and stone.

“A building’s endurance and durability can be attributed to the materials used back in the day,” Cream City Home Buyers real estate investor Kurt Walker said. “Raw materials used to cost a fraction of what they do today. Materials can make a building last [longer], but they can also cause a structure to whither.”

Here's the top 10 list of cities with the oldest apartment building stock, according to RentCafe.

1. Boston. Average age 105 years.
2. Minneapolis. Average age 104 years.
3. Springfield, Massachusetts. Average age 101 years.
4. Cincinnati. Average age 101 years.
5. San Francisco. Average age 100 years.
6. Manhattan. Average age 100 years.
7. Milwaukee. Average age 97 years.
8. Seattle. Average age 96 years.
9. St. Louis. Average age 96 years.
10. Jersey City, New Jersey. Average age 96 years.

Read the full RentCafe report here.