Baltimore, MD (KROC-AM News) - The number of Minnesota children living in poverty last year was the lowest since 2008.

The latest data compiled in the annual Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation estimates 150,000 children in the state live in households with incomes below the federal poverty level. The total is from 2017 and is about 11,000 lower than the 2016 figure for Minnesota and lowered the state’s child poverty rate a full percentage point to 12-percent.

The national rate also declined last year, falling to 18-percent, which translates into over 13.3 million children.

The child poverty ratedin the state peaked at 15-percent following the 2007 financial crisis when over 190,000 Minnesota children were found to be living in poverty in both 2010 and 2011.

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