In 2013, 13.2% of Nebraska’s population lived in poverty. In 2014 that number dropped to 12.4%.
James Goddard, Nebraska Appleseed’sEconomic Justice Director, says there are 227,000 Nebraskans living in poverty.
Goddard says the information was obtained through data released by the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
He says the survey also indicated that more than 16% of children in the state are living in poverty.
"The three things I would say for families in Nebraska: increasing access to education, increasing access to healthcare and improving the job quality in our state so that everyone can be raised up and we are not leaving people behind.”
Goddard says the poverty issue can be addressed in part by making sure low-skilled adults are able to get the skills they need to earn a decent wage.
He says this can be done by investing more in education and basic literacy for adults.