Poverty up by 10% in most Wisconsin counties
In a sign that a waning economic tide lowers all boats, the majority of Wisconsin counties saw their poverty rates increase by more than 10% since 2000, a new report from the University of Wisconsin Extension finds.
And newly released figures from the Census Bureau show there are now10 counties with poverty rates higher than 15%, including Milwaukee County, where 18% of residents are impoverished.
In the last decennial census, only two - Menominee and Milwaukee counties - had rates that high.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee County's suburbs reported the lowest poverty rates in the state. Waukesha and Ozaukee counties had poverty rates of 4.1%, followed by Washington County at 5.3%. Those counties also had the lowest rates in 2000.
Burnett County in northwestern Wisconsin had the largest jump in poverty since the last census, from 9% to 17%. The next largest rise was in Florence County along the Michigan border, where the rate rose from 9% to 16%.
"An increasing proportion of Wisconsin residents are facing economic hardship," said the report's author, Katherine Curtis, demographic specialist at UW Extension and an assistant professor at UW-Madison. "These numbers suggest that economic development, including living wages, health benefits, food security and housing affordability should be front and center in policy discussions."
The report compared data from the 2000 census to new poverty figures from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey's five-year estimates from 2005 through 2009.
Some counties saw poverty decline. The largest decrease was in Bayfield County, where the rate dropped two percentage points to about 11%. Other counties with declines included Pepin, 0.7 percentage points; Lafayette, 0.6; and Iowa, 0.5.
Overall, Wisconsin's poverty rate is 11.1%, up from 8.7% as recorded in 2000.
The new data also show a higher prevalence of poverty among minorities in Wisconsin. The poverty rate was highest among blacks - with nearly 35% living in poverty - followed by American Indians (27%) and Hispanics (23%). Non-Hispanic whites reported the lowest rate among racial groups - 8.5%.
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Highest poverty rates
Ten Wisconsin counties had poverty rates higher than 15%, according to new census figures:
- Ashland
- Burnett
- Dunn
- Florence
- Forest
- Menominee
- Milwaukee
- Sawyer
- Rusk
- Vernon
Source: University of Wisconsin Extension
