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Friday, Aug 21, 2026

Are Illinois residents buying more Wisconsin waterfront property than Minnesota residents?

Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch
no

Illinoisans and Minnesotans are buying about the same amount of waterfront property in Wisconsin.

A long-running resentment in Wisconsin is how Illinois residents behave when visiting the Badger State. Another common belief is Illinoisans buy up all the vacation property in Wisconsin, particularly near water.

But that’s exaggerated.

Wisconsin Property Map, an independent project, posted an article examining state property transfer records for sales of waterfront property.

The article stated that from 2021 through mid-2026, Minnesotans bought 9.5% of Wisconsin waterfront property, compared with Illinoisans’ 9.4%.

Wisconsin Watch did its own analysis and found nearly the same figures, with Minnesota edging Illinois by no more than 1 percentage point. 

Illinoisans might gain resentment partly because of the type of property they buy. 

They bought 17.6% of every $1 million-plus lakefront sale during the period, according to the article.

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