Wisconsin
State Government
Governor
Tony Evers (D)
State Senate
10
Democrats,
22
Republicans
State House
35
Democrats,
41
Republicans
Economic well-being - Wisconsin
Extreme poverty rate
0.06
Food insecurity
0.118
Minimum wage
7.25
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.251
Poverty rate
10.3%
Unemployment rate
3.1
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
5.3
Poverty by demographic - Wisconsin
Child poverty rate
0.12
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
N/A
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
67,000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
85,000
Senior poverty rate
10.0 %
Women in poverty
2,915,466
The Wausau Daily Herald, June 08, 2013: Low-income students lag in attendance rates
"Local educators say those attendance rates the number of actual days of attendance divided by the possible days of attendance are overall very good, but there still is room for improvement. Students from families that qualify for free- and reduced-price school meals, which a measurement of family's economic status, typically rank about 1 percentage to 3 percentage points behind their more affluent peers. Although 1 percent might not seem like much, in reality it means that low-income students don't spend as many hours in class, and that could be a substantial reason why they typically lag behind in typical measurements of academic performance, educators say."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 25, 2013: Walker attends rally for school vouchers
"That low-income score comparison still has the voucher program's students as a whole scoring lower than MPS low-income students in math: 12.9% proficiency in the voucher schools vs. 15.4% proficiency among MPS low-income students."
Milwaukee Courier, March 30, 2013: Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE) at UW-Madison
"PEOPLE is a pre-college pipeline for students of color and low- income students, most of whom are the first in their families to potentially attend college. Their journey prepares them to apply, be successfully admitted and enroll at the University of Wisconsin- Madison."
The Capital Times, March 17, 2013: Mayor Soglin: The city has to help students who live in poverty
"A serious effort to provide low-cost or even free Internet access to city residents is hampered by a 2003 state law that sought to discourage cities from setting up their own broadband networks. The bill, which was pushed by the telecommunications industry, forbids municipalities from funding a broadband system with taxpayer dollars; only subscriber fees can be used."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 07, 2013: Recession dims access to UW System for low-income students
"The UW System has made progress in narrowing the success gap between white students and minority students. But the gap has widened between low-income students and those not eligible for federal Pell grants, which provide needs-based grants to low-income undergraduates."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 07, 2013: (Blog) New list of low-income schools making progress includes Milwaukee suburban schools
"As part of Wisconsin's new public-school accountability system, a new list from the state Department of Public Instruction intends to recognize schools with significant numbers of low-income students but also high state test scores, or a track record of improving scores in math and reading."