ORIGINALLY POSTED JULY 10, 2018, AND UPDATED JANUARY 21, 2020, BY THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION
In America today, 18% of all kids — nearly 13 million children total — are living in poverty.
In the last decade, this rate has risen from 18% in 2007 and 2008, peaked at 23% in 2011 and 2012, and returned to 18% in 2017 and 2018.
Where is child poverty most common in the United States?
The likelihood that a child lives in poverty varies by location. Child poverty is most common in Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico. In each of these states, more than 25% of all kids are growing up in poverty. In Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, the child poverty rates climbs even higher — to 57%. Meanwhile, kids in North Dakota and Utah are the least likely to live in poverty — just 10% do.
Check the 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book and the KIDS COUNT Data Center to learn the child poverty rate in each state.
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