Economic Indicators
Racine’s
economic success is the result of hard-working, talented people who are dedicated
to creating a dynamic community. Lack of quality, affordable housing and
well-paying jobs can hamper the City’s ability to attract new business and grow.
Identifying opportunities to improve Racine’s job and housing situations can
lead to a strong local economy that is able to withstand downturns. This
section contains information about factors affecting Racine’s economy.
Access to Healthcare
Sources: Medicaid and Forward Health
Racine County has a higher rate of individuals enrolled in Medicaid than the State of Wisconsin and the U.S. overall. Enrollment nationally decreased for a short time due to various state's actions. Overall, there has been an upward trend in enrollment due to Medicaid expansion in participating states resulting from implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Wisconsin opted out of the Medicaid expansion but has no coverage gap.
Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Racine County has a slightly higher rate of people enrolled in Medicare than both the State and U.S. as a whole. The increases seen in recent years follow the same upward trend for the county and state, while the U.S. as a whole had a dip in enrollment, recovered, and then stagnated.
Sources: 2017 Racine City Community Health Survey, 2017 Central Racine County Community Health Survey, Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation, U.S. Census Bureau, and Centers for Disease Control
Approximately 92% of people in the City of Racine are covered by health insurance, which is the lowest of the four. All regions saw higher rates of insurance coverage in 2017 as compared to 2016, although the U.S. data remained unchanged, followed by a decrease in coverage in 2018, and another raise in 2019 before plateauing for all regions, except the United States.
Residents Living in Poverty
Source: U.S Census Bureau
People whose income is below a
certain level, depending on family size and as determined by the U.S. Census
Bureau, are considered to be living in poverty. The City of Racine has a significantly higher percentage of the total
population living in poverty compared to Racine County, the State of
Wisconsin, and the United States.
Nutrition
Source: 2017 Racine City Community Health Survey Report
Twenty-six percent of adults and 31% of children in the City of Racine reported eating the FDA recommended amount of vegetables each day. There is a significant portion of both the adult and child populations that are not consuming the suggested portions of fruits and vegetables.
Source: County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
Racine County has a lower percentage of people with limited access to healthy foods than Kenosha and the State of Wisconsin, with only Milwaukee County having better access. Having limited access to healthy foods means an individual is both living in poverty and does not live within one mile of a grocery store.
Racine and Madison both have roughly the same number of community gardens, but fall short when compared to Milwaukee overall. However, Milwaukee has nearly 8 times the population of Racine, making the number of community gardens per resident much closer and on par.
Sources: Wisconsin Food Security Project and US Department of Agriculture
Food insecurity is defined as limited or uncertain access to affordable and nutritious food in sufficient quantity. This includes people who may not have the money to purchase food regularly and those who must decide to buy food or pay other expenses. In 2021, 10.7% of Racine County residents experienced food insecurity, which is comparable to the State of Wisconsin and the entire United States.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, FoodShare) Enrollment
Sources:
U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin Department of Health Services
The FoodShare (Wisconsin's SNAP program) enrollment rate in Racine County has consistently been higher than both the State of Wisconsin and the United States.
Unemployment
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The unemployment rate is approximately back to where it was pre-pandemic at nearly all levels with the county remaining the higher than the state of Wisconsin and the United States.
Housing
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The City of Racine has a smaller percentage of substandard housing compared to the State of Wisconsin and the United States. This means that almost every home in the City has appropriate plumbing and kitchen facilities.
Homelessness
Source:
HUD Homelessness Data Exchange
The homeless rates in Racine County and the State of Wisconsin are significantly lower than the United States. In 2018, the County's rate ticked up sharply after several years of being relatively stable before lowering again.
Foreign-Born Non-Citizens
Sources:
Towncharts
and Migration Policy
The rate of foreign-born non-citizens is higher in the City of Racine than in both Racine County and the State of Wisconsin, but is lower than the Unites States.