MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Over 11 percent of Wisconsinites lived in poverty in 2008, just as the recession began to hit.
That’s according to a new study at UW-Madison which, for the first time, takes the cost of living in the Badger State into account. The study set the Wisconsin poverty line at just under $25,000 a year for a family of 4. That’s $3,000 more than the federal government’s official numbers.
Using the Wisconsin data, the poverty rate for children rose from the federal number of 13.3 percent to 13.6. Poverty rates for the elderly had a large jump from about 7 percent to 10.4.
The UW’s Timothy Smeeding said the new figures consider the government aid received by Wisconsin residents, in addition to their expenses. As a result, it offers a more complete picture of how anti-poverty programs affect those who are supposed to benefit from them.
Milwaukee County had Wisconsin’s highest poverty rate at just under 19 percent. Ozaukee and Washington counties in the Milwaukee suburbs had the lowest rates at 4.6.
