Families with young children are more likely to face economic challenges than others in Wisconsin, according to an analysis of UW-Madison survey data.
The university yesterday announced survey results from the La Follette School of Public Affairs, which found more than a third of surveyed families with young children struggle to cover monthly expenses, compared to less than a quarter of other households.
Meanwhile, 60% of families with young children said they weren’t confident they can handle an unexpected expense. For other households, the rate was 50%.
And 40% of families with young children say food insecurity is a concern, compared to 25% for all respondents. For low-income young families, the rate is near 66%, according to the university’s release.
Results come from the WisconSays/La Follette Survey, part of an opinion panel launched by the UW-Madison Survey Center in summer 2023. More than 3,500 state residents are enrolled in the state wide panel, the release shows.
The analysis was conducted by UW-Madison Prof. Sarah Halpern-Meekin, who found inflation and wealth inequality were the top two concerns for families with young children.
These families had similar levels of concern about income inequality as other households — 47% compared to 50%, respectively — but 75% pointed to inflation as a concern, versus 63% for others.
“While inflation has been coming down recently, these survey results show the price pressures families with young children have been under over the past several years,” Halpern-Meekin said in the release. “The early childhood period is one that comes with a lot of expenses for families, so they have felt the crunch of higher prices.”
See more on the survey.
–By Alex Moe