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Wisconsin poverty rate reached new low in 2015, according to new study

Wisconsin poverty rate reached 9-year low in 2015
Wisconsin poverty rate reached new low in 2015, according to new study
Posted at 3:19 PM, May 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-28 16:35:24-04
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A new study shows that Wisconsin's poverty rate reached a nine-year low in 2015.
 
Wisconsin Public Radioreports that the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institute for Research on Poverty study says the state's poverty rate was 9.7 percent in 2015, down from 10.8 percent in 2014.
 
Researchers use the Wisconsin Poverty Measure -- created nine years ago -- to calculate the poverty rate.
 
Timothy Smeeding is a professor at UW-Madison and one of the authors of the report. He says job growth and a decreased reliance on government assistance programs helped reduce poverty. The study found the state added 70,000 jobs between 2014 and 2015.
 
The poverty level in La Crosse County is at 13 percent while Milwaukee County has a poverty rate of 16.3 percent.
 
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