Census: Ashland County Poverty Rises, Bayfield County's Falls

While Ashland County's poverty increased to 18 percent from 2005 to 2009, the greatest poverty decline in the state from 2005 to 2009 occurred in Bayfield County, where poverty fell from 13 percent to 11 percent.

In 2000 only two Wisconsin counties had poverty rates higher than 15 percent. But from 2005 to 2009 that number jumped to 10 counties – including Ashland. (A full listing of Wisconsin counties is attached to this article below.)

Overall, Wisconsin poverty is increasing and has increased by more than 10 percent in the majority of Wisconsin counties since the year 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state's average poverty rate between 2005 and 2009 was 11 percent. The U.S. Census Bureau poverty threshold for 2009 says the poverty rate for a family of four with two children is $21,756.

“An increasing proportion of Wisconsin residents are facing economic hardship,” says Katherine Curtis, demographic specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Extension and assistant professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “This has significant impacts, both immediate and long-term, for individuals, their communities, and the state. These numbers suggest that economic development, including living wages, health benefits, food security and housing affordability should be front and center in policy discussions.”

From 2005 to 2009, Memominee County and Sawyer County reported the highest poverty levels in the state, 29 percent and 20 percent respectively, followed by Forest, Milwaukee, Ashland, Burnett, Florence, Rusk, Vernon and Dunn counties. Approximately 15 percent of the population living in La Crosse and Eau Claire counties live below the official poverty line.

Burnett County reported the largest growth in poverty of all Wisconsin counties, where since 2000 poverty has increased by eight percentage points, growing from about nine percent to 17 percent. The next largest growth occurred in Florence County, where poverty has grown from nine percent to 16 percent just since 2000.

Poverty did decline in some counties, including Bayfield County, and poverty was lowest in Waukesha and Ozaukee counties (four percent) from 2005 to 2009. Washington County showed a rate of five percent, followed by Calumet County at six percent. These counties also reported the lowest poverty rates in 2000.

According to the U.S. Census, approximately seven percent of family households in Wisconsin reported living in poverty between 2005 and 2009. Among family households, nearly 36 percent of those with children under 18 years old were living below the poverty line.

Recent research about Wisconsin shows that limited earnings potential, including the inability to find work or work that pays a living wage, is most strongly linked with economic vulnerability for family households. Single-mother households are constrained by one income and face the additional challenge of balancing the demands of employment and childrearing. Low education is a marker of a less competitive labor force.

Research has also shown a higher prevalence of poverty among racial minorities. This pattern persists in 2005 through 2009. Poverty was highest for African Americans, with nearly 35 percent living in poverty, followed by American Indians (about 27 percent) and Hispanics (23 percent). Approximately 13 percent of the state’s Asian residents were living in poverty. In contrast, about eight percent of non-Hispanic whites were in poverty during the period.

Though poverty has increased over the past few years in Wisconsin, numbers from the state's Department of Workforce Development show that the state's unemployment rate is improving.

This week the Department of Workforce Development Secretary announced that the state's unemployment rate for November dropped two tenths to a seasonally-adjusted 7.6 percent, from 7.8 percent in October. Without seasonal adjustment the unemployment rate was 7.1 percent, which would then be unchanged from the October 7.1 percent rate.

“In November, Wisconsin's unemployment rate dropped to its lowest point since January 2009, which is an encouraging sign for our state's recovery from the deep national recession,” said Gassman. “Even so, we must do everything we can to grow job opportunities.”

Wisconsin's seasonally-adjusted rate is 2.2 percent lower than the national rate of 9.8 percent.