Fiscal Facts

A number of factors affect Wisconsin’s inmate population, including the number of inmates entering the system (admissions) and leaving it (releases).

After a few years of decline, Wisconsin’s prison population has started to climb again, with the number of adults in state prisons reaching a record 23,687 in 2017, up 2.3 percent from the previous year.

Among the counties with the biggest gaps between median rents and median household incomes, eight have renter household incomes below the state median.

A household is considered rent-burdened if it spends more than 30 percent of income on rent. In Langlade County, 55.8 percent of renters are rent-burdened.

Based on 2016 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 16 Wisconsin counties had gaps between the county’s median renter household income and the county’s median rent.

A 30 percent rent-to-income ratio is a standard used nationally to define housing affordability. Spending over 30 percent is considered “rent burdened.”

With one exception, counties with high concentrations of high-quality providers have small numbers of regulated care options, with 10 providers or fewer.

As of July 2018, nearly three of every four children participating in the Wisconsin Shares program were receiving care from providers rated three stars or higher, meaning the providers met “proficient levels of quality standards” or better.

To encourage providers to improve the quality of their child care, YoungStar uses a “carrot and stick” approach that links Wisconsin Shares payments to provider ratings.

YoungStar is designed to improve child care quality in Wisconsin by evaluating and rating providers and sharing those ratings with parents.