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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Wisconsin

1 persistent-poverty county

Wisconsin has 1 persistent-poverty counties and 45 nonmetro counties — home to 4,256 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 10.6% and child poverty is 13.0%.

1

Persistent-poverty counties

45

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

4K

Residents in PPCs

72

Total counties

Wisconsin by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Wisconsin at a glance

Poverty rate

10.6%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

13.0%

Under 18

PPC share

1.4%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

62.5%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

2.63

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.20

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Wisconsin's 155 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 72 in Wisconsin.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Menominee 0.68
  2. 2 Forest 0.36
  3. 3 Sawyer 0.36
  4. 4 Price 0.35
  5. 5 Iron 0.35

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Menominee 21.2%
  2. 2 Milwaukee 17.5%
  3. 3 Ashland 16.4%
  4. 4 Forest 15.0%
  5. 5 Sawyer 15.0%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Menominee 21.2%

Every county in Wisconsin

All 72 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Adams 8 — Retire. 13.8% 20.3% 20,928 0.32
Ashland 7 — Pop. loss 16.4% 12.7% 16,050 0.29
Barron 6 — — 9.9% 12.8% 46,741 0.23
Bayfield 8 — Retire. 8.9% 11.7% 16,410 0.30
Brown 2 — — 9.8% 12.1% 269,425 0.08
Buffalo 8 — Pop. loss 8.7% 9.4% 13,341 0.30
Burnett 8 — Retire. 13.1% 16.8% 16,741 0.31
Calumet 3 — — 5.7% 6.6% 52,626 0.10
Chippewa 3 — — 9.2% 11.6% 66,558 0.11
Clark 8 — — 12.0% 16.9% 34,736 0.31
Columbia 2 — — 7.8% 9.0% 58,322 0.07
Crawford 6 — Pop. loss 12.6% 18.0% 16,064 0.24
Dane 2 — Housing 10.5% 8.5% 564,777 0.08
Dodge 4 — — 7.9% 9.6% 88,818 0.14
Door 6 — Retire. 8.7% 11.2% 30,279 0.22
Douglas 2 — — 10.4% 12.6% 44,197 0.08
Dunn 6 — — 10.7% 8.1% 45,349 0.23
Eau Claire 3 — — 11.5% 8.8% 106,328 0.12
Florence 9 — Retire. 8.5% 7.5% 4,617 0.33
Fond du Lac 3 — — 8.7% 13.0% 104,053 0.11
Forest 9 — Pop. loss, Retire. 15.0% 20.7% 9,261 0.36
Grant 6 — — 13.4% 14.9% 51,678 0.24
Green 2 — — 7.0% 8.3% 37,036 0.07
Green Lake 6 — Pop. loss 13.3% 21.0% 19,165 0.24
Iowa 2 — — 7.7% 8.2% 23,832 0.07
Iron 9 — Retire. 11.6% 14.4% 6,164 0.35
Jackson 8 — — 12.6% 17.1% 20,971 0.31
Jefferson 4 — — 8.1% 9.8% 85,867 0.14
Juneau 8 — — 14.3% 14.4% 26,695 0.32
Kenosha 3 — — 10.5% 14.3% 168,413 0.12
Kewaunee 2 — — 7.6% 9.3% 20,621 0.07
La Crosse 3 — — 12.4% 7.6% 120,262 0.12
Lafayette 8 — — 10.7% 11.8% 16,788 0.31
Langlade 6 — Pop. loss 12.1% 11.6% 19,473 0.24
Lincoln 6 — Pop. loss 10.5% 13.4% 28,403 0.23
Manitowoc 4 — Pop. loss 9.8% 12.6% 81,314 0.15
Marathon 3 — — 8.9% 11.6% 138,067 0.11
Marinette 6 — — 9.1% 9.6% 41,907 0.22
Marquette 8 — Retire. 11.8% 15.6% 15,706 0.31
Menominee 9 Yes Retire. 21.2% 34.5% 4,256 0.68
Milwaukee 1 — Housing 17.5% 24.0% 927,656 0.07
Monroe 4 — — 11.8% 15.1% 46,169 0.16
Oconto 2 — — 8.4% 8.6% 39,329 0.07
Oneida 7 — Retire. 8.2% 7.2% 38,007 0.26
Outagamie 3 — — 6.4% 7.6% 191,537 0.10
Ozaukee 1 — — 4.6% 4.7% 92,345 0.02
Pepin 8 — — 7.9% 10.7% 7,372 0.29
Pierce 1 — — 9.5% 6.7% 42,351 0.04
Polk 8 — — 8.3% 11.3% 45,327 0.30
Portage 4 — — 10.2% 10.3% 70,375 0.15
Price 9 — Pop. loss 13.0% 24.2% 14,077 0.35
Racine 3 — — 10.8% 15.0% 196,888 0.12
Richland 8 — — 14.5% 20.9% 17,229 0.32
Rock 3 — — 10.0% 14.2% 163,944 0.12
Rusk 8 — Pop. loss 12.5% 16.5% 14,146 0.31
Sauk 4 — — 8.8% 12.0% 65,759 0.15
Sawyer 9 — Retire. 15.0% 20.2% 18,243 0.36
Shawano 6 — — 11.0% 13.5% 40,927 0.23
Sheboygan 3 — — 8.1% 10.5% 117,783 0.11
St. Croix 1 — — 6.6% 7.2% 94,819 0.03
Taylor 8 — — 9.3% 10.0% 19,972 0.30
Trempealeau 8 — — 8.5% 9.7% 30,786 0.30
Vernon 3 — — 14.5% 22.3% 30,915 0.13
Vilas 9 — Retire. 10.9% 18.7% 23,410 0.34
Walworth 4 — — 9.7% 9.7% 105,447 0.15
Washburn 8 — Retire. 11.7% 15.0% 16,749 0.31
Washington 1 — — 5.3% 5.8% 137,320 0.02
Waukesha 1 — — 5.2% 5.8% 409,040 0.02
Waupaca 6 — — 10.1% 13.1% 51,714 0.23
Waushara 8 — — 11.1% 15.5% 24,752 0.31
Winnebago 3 — — 10.9% 13.3% 171,357 0.12
Wood 4 — Pop. loss 10.3% 11.2% 74,039 0.15

Find a food pantry in Wisconsin

Search Wisconsin's 155 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Wisconsin pantry directory

Wisconsin SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Wisconsin SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Wisconsin food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology