According to the most recent demographic update from Dakota County:
• The child poverty rate in the county rose from 4.2 percent in 2000 to 10 percent in 2010.
• The rate of county public assistance in March 2012 was 85 cases per 1,000 residents, or 21,811 cases.
• From March 2011 to March 2012, public assistance cases increased by 1,090, or 5 percent.