Report Suggests Poverty Is A Growing Problem In Northeastern Wisconsin

A new report shows more people in Brown County are living in poverty compared to seven years ago.

The study comes from the Bay Area Community Council and looks at poverty in the northeastern Wisconsin that is home to Green Bay. It says that the area’s population has increased, but that job growth has largely been in low-wage positions.

According to spokesman John Dye, just over 23,000 county residents lived in poverty in 2007. Dye said that with more people moving into the county, more families are coping on a low budget.

“By 2014, the poverty rate has increased to 11.9 percent,” he said. “The total had also grown to 29,200 people, so you’ve got 6,000 more people in poverty.”

Dye said the unemployment rate has improved since the impact of the “great recession,” but jobs are often part-time or low-paying.

He said Brown County needs to improve services in areas like childcare, health care, affordable housing and transportation.