Wisconsin incomes up, poverty down

Mirroring national figures, median income in Wisconsin grew for the first time in eight years, while poverty declined slightly in 2015, according to data released Thursday from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Still, poverty kept a tight grip on the city of Milwaukee, which had the third-highest poverty rate among the 50 largest cities in the United States.

The numbers from the American Community Survey provide a mixture of hope and heartache for the state and region.

Household incomes grew in Wisconsin for the first time since 2007, the last year before the Great Recession. The median household income for 2015 was $55,638, up 5.6% from 2014.

The median income figure was still down 3.8% from 2007, when it was $57,818.

Statewide in Wisconsin, the poverty rate was 12.1% in 2015, down from 13.2% in 2014. Nationally, the rate was 15th lowest among the states. Still, Wisconsin's poverty rate remained above the level of 10.8% in 2007.

An estimated 677,964 people in Wisconsin were living in poverty last year.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau reported national figures that showed real median household income increased by 3.8% between 2014 and 2015 while the poverty rate decreased by 0.8%.

"The story (in Wisconsin) sounds similar to the national story," said Timothy M. Smeeding, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Essentially, we're not back to where we started (before the recession). We seem to be following a hopeful pattern."

Median incomes were up in all four counties in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Milwaukee's increased by 7.1% to $45,859, Ozaukee's by 9.5% to $79,048, Waukesha's by 2.1% to $77,761 and Washington's median income increased by 1.8% to $69,713, after adjusting for inflation. Those figures have still not caught up to their pre-recession highs from 2007 and 2008.

The poverty figures for Milwaukee remain sobering.

Even though Milwaukee's poverty rate was down slightly in 2015 to 26.8%, the city ranked third nationally behind Detroit (39.8%) and Fresno (28.4%).

With 39.2% of children under age 18 living in poverty, Milwaukee ranked fourth of the largest U.S. cities for childhood poverty. Statewide in Wisconsin, 16.4% of children live in poverty.

In Milwaukee, the poverty rate for black residents was 34.5%, a decrease from the rate of 39.9% in 2014 and the rate of 36.5% in 2007.

For white, non-Hispanic residents in Milwaukee, the poverty rate in 2015 was 14.5%, not much of a change from 2014 (14.8%), but still an increase from 2007 (13.1%).

Among Hispanics in Milwaukee, the poverty rate was 33% in 2015, an increase both 2014 (31.8%) and 2007 (23%).

The poverty threshold for a family of four in 2015 was $24,257.

"We don't see much movement in Milwaukee, which should be a source of concern for state policymakers," said Abdur Chowdhury, a Marquette University economics professor. "Other parts of the state are doing well but it's in Milwaukee where we somehow don't see movement in income increase or decrease in poverty. That tells us we are not creating enough economic opportunity in the inner city of Milwaukee."

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said "the city will work aggressively in trying to put people to work so they can support their families."

Barrett lamented the concentration of poverty in Milwaukee. But he said there are city programs to try to get people to work in construction and related fields and added: "We need help from the private sector. We need the state to recognize that this is not a city problem that this is a state and regional problem."

Specifically, Barrett pointed to the redevelopment of Century City on the north side, which could serve as an economic catalyst.

"We need to have the private sector and have jobs created there so people can support their families," Barrett said.