Wisconsin Poverty Report
All 72 of Wisconsin's counties are covered by the annual Wisconsin Poverty Report, an up-to-date analysis of poverty, food insecurity, and areas of rapidly growing economic need in the state. Timothy M. Smeeding, Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs and Economics, and IRP Affiliate and Urban Institute Senior Fellow Julia B. Isaacs are the project’s primary researchers and report authors with assistance from Institute for Research on Poverty's (IRP) Senior Programmer Analyst Katherine Thornton. The report analyzes poverty using a Wisconsin-specific measure developed by Smeeding and Isaacs. Accompanying methodological appendices provide technical analyses with the aim of providing a blueprint for creating a state-level
Outcomes
The report provides a starting point for Wisconsin's antipoverty initiatives, demonstrating the antipoverty effectiveness of programs and policies such as the state’s FoodShare Program. It covers all 72 Wisconsin counties and indicates poverty rates for all individuals, child poverty rates, elder poverty rates, and areas of most rapid growth in food need, as reflected in both Census Bureau data and, for the most recent information possible and a strong indicator of increases in poverty, administrative data from federal and state food assistance programs. The report can be used to target areas of greatest need within our state.
Focus Areas
Project Leader
Deborah Johnson
Senior Editor
- Department/Unit
- Institute for Research on Poverty
- School or College
- College of Letters & Science