Posted Thursday, September 20, 2012 --- 7:20 a.m.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The poverty rate across Wisconsin remains relatively flat.

U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday show nearly 726,000 people live in poverty in Wisconsin, or about 13 percent of the population. That includes about 237,000 children. The rate has remained about 13 percent statewide over the past two years.

Wisconsin Council on Children and Families director Ken Taylor says the figures underscore the need for lawmakers to maintain federal programs that help lift lower-income families above the poverty line.

The Journal Sentinel says Milwaukee remains one of America's 10 most impoverished cities. It had a poverty rate of about 29 percent in 2011. The poverty threshold for a family of four is about $22,000 in annual income.

Copyright 2012: Associated Press