With August being Child Support Awareness Month and 1 in 6 children in the U.S. living in poverty, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States With the Most Underprivileged Children in 2024, as well as expert commentary, to show where we need to improve conditions for our nation’s youth.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of children in households with below-poverty income to the share of maltreated children to the rates of child mortality and food insecurity.
| States with the Most Underprivileged Kids | | | 1. West Virginia | 11. Alabama | | 2. Alaska | 12. South Carolina | | 3. Mississippi | 13. Nevada | | 4. New Mexico | 14. South Dakota | | 5. Oklahoma | 15. Kentucky | | 6. Arkansas | 16. Ohio | | 7. Louisiana | 17. Maine | | 8. Montana | 18. Missouri | | 9. District of Columbia | 19. Tennessee | | 10. Arizona | 20. Wyoming |
Key Stats- Louisiana has the highest child food-insecurity rate, which is two times higher than in Massachusetts, the state with the lowest.
- Mississippi has the most infant deaths (per 1,000 live births), which is 2.8 times more than in Massachusetts, the state with the fewest.
- West Virginia has the highest share of children in foster care, which is 13.8 times higher than in New Jersey, the state with the lowest.
- Texas has the highest share of uninsured children aged 0 to 18, which is 7.8 times higher than in Massachusetts, the state with the lowest.
- Massachusetts has the highest share of maltreated children, which is 10.1 times higher than in New Jersey, the state with the lowest.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-underprivileged-children/5403
“Tackling the problem of underprivileged children in America requires a multifaceted approach. On top of lifting children out of poverty and making sure they have access to adequate nutrition and medical care, we also need to look after their mental health, protect them from abuse and ensure they receive quality education. Failing to address even one of these issues can lead to worse outcomes during adulthood.”
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“West Virginia is the state with the most underprivileged children, in part because it has the second-highest share of children in low-income households where no adults work and the second-highest share of children whose parents lack secure employment. This has resulted in over 22% of children in the state living in households whose incomes are below the poverty line. In addition, West Virginia has the second-highest share of maltreated children in the nation, along with the second-highest share of kids ages 16 to 19 who are neither enrolled in school nor employed.”
- Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst
Expert Commentary
What are the most efficient and effective programs for equalizing opportunity for children?
“Financial support for the entire family is critical, inclusive of support for parents. Early Head Start and Head Start programs have proven across the years to be instrumental in leveling the playing field for children living in poverty at extremely sensitive times of child development. Save the Children also does a lot of good advocacy work for the most vulnerable children, so many initiatives can be located there.”
Darcey H. Merritt, MSW, Ph.D. – Professor, The University of Chicago
“Compared to other industrialized countries, the U.S. has one of the highest proportions of children living in poverty (approximately, one in six children in the U.S. live under the poverty line). And the research is clear that children growing up in poverty face a wide range of disadvantages, and often times instabilities, that dimmish their long-term potential in terms of various education, economic, and social outcomes. The enduring impact of child poverty has sometimes been described as having a ‘long arm’ across the life course – the disadvantages of growing up in poverty accumulate overtime and restrict the opportunities that people face at different phases of their life. Most researchers agree that direct cash transfer programs--such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (ETIC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC)--as well as supplemental assistance programs for food, housing and childcare, are the most direct and effective way to address child poverty. These programs, when funded and scaled adequately, directly address the root source of much instability in many children's lives. And so, in my opinion, directly addressing child poverty through consistent policies and increased investments, is the main way that policymakers can improve the opportunities of children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Arturo Baiocchi, PhD – Associate Professor, California State University, Sacramento
Are elected officials placing a sufficiently high priority on the needs of underprivileged children?
“There are definitely elected officials that understand and are prioritizing the needs of children coming from low-resourced homes and communities. The problem is a consequential gridlock in Congress and the capacity to successfully put forward necessary legislation for what is known to make a difference.”
Ezekiel Dixon-Román – Professor; Director, Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Columbia University
“While issues pertaining to children often garner sympathy from the public and policymakers alike, child poverty is rarely discussed and addressed as a high priority policy issue. I think this is evident in the fact that the temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit during the pandemic was left to expire by Congress, and with little fanfare by the press, even though it was one of the most effective programs for addressing child poverty in several decades. By some estimates, the temporary expansion of the CTC reduced child poverty in the U.S. by 30%-50% (depending on the measure of poverty). Yet, proposals to continue this successful policy were quickly dismissed and ignored. In my opinion, there is a disconnect in the U.S. between helping poor children versus helping the adult parents of poor children. While most people want to help the former, there is a reluctance to provide cash assistance to the latter. This reflects the stigma that many of us attach to adults in poverty, as well as persistent, albeit unfounded, fear that providing assistance to poor households will be a disincentive for paid work. But I also believe it is difficult to show the immediate impacts of antipoverty programs on children – many of the benefits of lifting children out of poverty take years to unfold and observe. And so I think addressing child poverty is a vexing challenge in the U.S. because poor parents are often stigmatized, and the direct benefits of assisting these families are easy to dismiss.”
Arturo Baiocchi, PhD – Associate Professor, California State University, Sacramento
Would expanding the Child Tax Credit be a big step forward in ending extreme poverty for children and families?
“Categorically, yes. This is not a question; this is an empirical fact. The expanded Child Tax Credit cut childhood poverty nearly in half to 5.2%. After its expiration, the rate of children in poverty more than doubled to 12.4%.”
Ezekiel Dixon-Román – Professor; Director, Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Columbia University
“Absolutely, making the child tax credit permanent and robust will make an enormous positive difference in ending poverty.”
Darcey H. Merritt, MSW, Ph.D. – Professor, The University of Chicago
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