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Trends: Child Poverty

Children in Poverty. These data presents the percentage of children in poverty according to the Federal Poverty Threshold. These data are drawn from the Kids Count Data Center. For more information on this indicator, see Kids Count – Children in Poverty.

To view child poverty data for your state, select up to six jurisdictions below and click "View Data."

View Data

United States
Alabama Louisiana Oklahoma
Alaska Maine Oregon
Arizona Maryland Pennsylvania
Arkansas Massachusetts Puerto Rico
California Michigan Rhode Island
Colorado Minnesota South Carolina
Connecticut Mississippi South Dakota
Delaware Missouri Tennessee
District of Columbia Montana Texas
Florida Nebraska Utah
Georgia Nevada Vermont
Hawaii New Hampshire Virgin Islands
Idaho New Jersey Virginia
Illinois New Mexico Washington
Indiana New York West Virginia
Iowa North Carolina Wisconsin
Kansas North Dakota Wyoming
Kentucky Ohio

Questions to Consider.

· How does your state compare to neighboring or similar states?

· What economic and other factors might explain similarities and differences?

· How do these data compare to other poverty measures, such as extreme poverty (50% of the FPT), or data about the working poor (200% FPT)?

· What do indicators tell us about outcomes for racial groups, age groups, regions, urban and rural areas and other sub-populations?

What You Need to Know

· The national child poverty rate has remained relatively level, holding at approximately 16% from 1999 to 2002, and subsequently at approximately 17%.

· State-level child poverty trends have varied widely, remaining relatively level in some states and fluctuating significantly in others; trending upward in some states and downward in others; and exceeding the national rate in some states, and falling below this rate in others.

· For an analysis of national poverty trends for multiple indicators of child poverty see Children in Poverty, produced by Child Trends.