DUBUQUE, Iowa — Anderson Sanchi, director of the Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood Supports, told the Dubuque City Council on June 2 that the city’s official poverty rate fell from 16% in 2018 to 12.2% in 2023 and that the department will continue coordinating partners and data to address remaining gaps.

Sanchi, presenting a yearly report and data review during a special work session, said the office was formed from a prior neighborhood development area after the council adopted an Equitable Poverty Prevention Plan in 2021. “Poverty is complex,” Sanchi said, adding the office’s role is to align city systems and partners so “all residents have access” to services.

City staff and presenters emphasized why the data matter to policy choices. Braden Daniels, who presented the data, said the meeting used the official poverty measure — “the percentage of people who live in a household with an income under the official poverty measure” — and mostly relied on five‑year American Community Survey estimates for accuracy at Dubuque’s scale.

Daniels said key takeaways included a 24% decline in the citywide official poverty rate (from 16% to 12.2%) between 2018 and 2023, with the largest drops occurring in 2020–2021 coinciding with expanded federal assistance. He also reported that child poverty declined by about 40% over the same period and that Dubuque’s poverty rate in 2023 was the lowest among Iowa’s 11 largest cities.

Presenters stressed the unevenness of progress. Daniels reported that poverty remains highest among Black or African American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander residents, with “more than 2 in 5 people” in those groups living in households below the official poverty threshold in 2023. He noted the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander population is small and that some estimates have large margins of error, but flagged that group’s poverty rate as an exception to the overall declining trend.

The update also covered related measures: Dubuque’s population rose by about 1,000 people (roughly 1.6%) between 2018 and 2023; median household income rose about 24% in that span versus roughly 21% inflation; and median earnings for women working full time were about 76% of comparable men’s wages in 2023. Daniels said women remain overrepresented in lower‑paying sectors and that nearly half (49.7%) of households in poverty are headed by single mothers.

Housing, workforce and child care were singled out as priority systems. Daniels reported a net increase in housing units (about 1,700 units added since 2018) and noted planning staff showed about 2,600 proposed lots and units as of the week of the presentation, with roughly 400 of those described in the presentation as affordable units. Presenters and council members linked child care access, livable wages and transportation improvements to sustained poverty reduction.

Council members asked how the data connect to other agencies and alternate measures. Sanchi said the Office of Shared Prosperity works monthly with other leaders and partners — naming HACAP, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, Greater Dubuque Development and health partners — and that the Community Foundation has pursued an ALICE‑style (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) measure that would likely show more residents experiencing hardship. “We can definitely…share that data,” Sanchi told the council.

The presenters described accomplishments and local coordination: supporting Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance by providing laptops and outreach; convening employers and jobseekers at employment fairs that led to commitments by at least one employer to interview participants; and hosting data walks and community conversations in partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and the Women’s Leadership Network to surface lived experience alongside the numbers.

No formal council vote or directive was recorded during the special session; the meeting closed with council questions and praise for staff. Sanchi and Daniels encouraged council members to flag data points that should inform the council’s upcoming goal‑setting process.