States with the Most Underprivileged Children (2026)

In an ideal world, all children would live worry-free and have access to their basic needs: nutritious food, a good education, quality health care and a secure home. Emotionally, they all would feel safe and be loved and supported by caring adults. When all such needs are met, children have a better chance of a stable and happy adult life. But in reality, not every child is so privileged — even in the richest nation in the world. Plus, conditions are even harder for underprivileged children this year due to the financial hardships caused by inflation.

In the U.S., 1 in 7 children live in poverty, and according to the Children’s Defense Fund, a child is abused or neglected every 54 seconds. In addition, one year of all confirmed cases of child maltreatment leads to $592 billion in costs over those children’s lifetimes.

Some states address the problems of underprivileged children better than others. To determine where children are most disadvantaged, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key indicators of neediness. Our data set ranges from the share of children in households with below-poverty income to the child food-insecurity rate to the share of maltreated children.

“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.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

States with the Most Underprivileged Children

Notes: *No. 1 = Most Underprivileged
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the worst conditions for that metric category.

Children in Foster Care

Most

• T-1. West Virginia
• T-1. Alaska
• T-1. Montana
• 4. Kansas
• 5. Maine

Fewest

• 47. Virginia
• 48. Maryland
• 49. Delaware
• 50. Utah
• 51. New Jersey

Best State vs. Worst State: 14x Difference

West Virginia vs. New Jersey

Children in Single-Parent Families

Most

• 1. District of Columbia
• 2. Louisiana
• 3. Mississippi
• 4. New Mexico
• 5. Nevada

Fewest

• 47. New Hampshire
• 48. North Dakota
• 49. Wyoming
• 50. Idaho
• 51. Utah

Best State vs. Worst State: 3x Difference

District of Columbia vs. Utah

% of Children in Households with Below-Poverty Income

Highest

• 1. Mississippi
• 2. Louisiana
• 3. New Mexico
• 4. Alabama
• 5. West Virginia

Lowest

• 47. Vermont
• T-48. Minnesota
• T-48. North Dakota
• 50. Utah
• 51. New Hampshire

Best State vs. Worst State: 3x Difference

Mississippi vs. New Hampshire

% of Maltreated Children

Highest

• 1. Massachusetts
• 2. Maine
• 3. Iowa
• 4. Kentucky
• 5. Oklahoma

Lowest

• 47. Kansas
• 48. Virginia
• 49. Washington
• 50. Pennsylvania
• 51. New Jersey

Best State vs. Worst State: 11x Difference

Massachusetts vs. New Jersey

Child Food-Insecurity Rate

Highest

• 1. Louisiana
• 2. Arkansas
• 3. Mississippi
• 4. Oklahoma
• 5. Alabama

Lowest

• 47. Virginia
• 48. North Dakota
• 49. New Hampshire
• 50. New Jersey
• 51. Massachusetts

Best State vs. Worst State: 2x Difference

Louisiana vs. Massachusetts

Infant Mortality Rate

Highest

• 1. Mississippi
• 2. Arkansas
• 3. Alabama
• 4. Alaska
• 5. Louisiana

Lowest

• 47. Wyoming
• 48. New Jersey
• 49. Massachusetts
• 50. Vermont
• 51. New Hampshire

Best State vs. Worst State: 3x Difference

Mississippi vs. New Hampshire

Child & Youth Homeless Rate

Highest

• T-1. District of Columbia
• T-1. Oregon
• 3. Vermont
• 4. Alaska
• 5. Washington

Lowest

• 47. Louisiana
• 48. Virginia
• 49. Indiana
• 50. Delaware
• 51. Mississippi

Best State vs. Worst State: 46x Difference

District of Columbia vs. Mississippi

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In-Depth Look at the States With the Most Underprivileged Children

New Mexico

New Mexico is the state with the most underprivileged children, in part because it has the highest share of children in low-income households where no adults work and the highest share of children whose parents lack secure employment. This has resulted in nearly 25% of children in the state living in households whose incomes are below the poverty line.

On top of that, New Mexico also has the fourth-highest share of children living in single-parent families and the eighth-highest percentage living only with their grandparents. Of course, both single parents and grandparents can be loving, responsible caregivers, but these children still face difficult circumstances that lead them to these living arrangements.

Children in the Land of Enchantment have several other big problems that need to be addressed. New Mexico has the tenth-highest share of maltreated children in the nation, along with the 13th-highest share of 9th-12th-graders who felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two consecutive weeks during the past year. This depression may also explain why New Mexico has the highest share of kids ages 16 to 19 who are neither enrolled in school nor employed.

Alaska

Alaska has the second-most underprivileged children, with economic reasons being a big contributor. The state has the fourth-highest share of homeless children and the third-highest share whose parents lack secure employment.

The health situation in Alaska is also precarious for a concerning number of children, as over 48% of impoverished children under three years old don’t have all seven of the recommended vaccines. Around 8% of children lack health insurance coverage, too, and Alaska has the sixth-highest child death rate.

Finally, Alaska has much room for improvement when it comes to education. It has a less than 80% graduation rate for high school, the fourth-lowest in the country, and ranks in the bottom five states when it comes to school-system quality.

Louisiana

Louisiana has the third-most underprivileged children, with the second-highest share of children whose parents’ income is below the poverty level, at nearly 26%. It also has the highest share of low-income households where no adult works and the highest share of households where parents lack secure employment.

When it comes to family structure, there are a lot of children in Louisiana who don’t live with their parents. The state has the sixth-highest percentage of children living with grandparents with no parents present.

Finally, children’s health is a major concern in Louisiana. It has the fifth-highest infant mortality rate and highest child death rate in the country, along with the highest food insecurity rate for children. And when it comes to education, it has the fifth-lowest school system quality in the nation.

Ask the Experts

All children deserve a fulfilling childhood, but not every child will experience one. In order to identify key problem areas and learn how best to address them, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What are the most efficient and effective programs for equalizing opportunity for children?
2. Are elected officials placing a sufficiently high priority on the needs of underprivileged children?
3. In evaluating the best and worst states for underprivileged children, what are the top five indicators?
4. Would expanding the Child Tax Credit be a big step toward in ending extreme poverty for children and families?
5. What are the economic costs of child poverty?

Ask the Experts

Cristina Mogro-Wilson
Ph.D., MSW - Zachs Endowed Professor, University of Connecticut, School of Social Work and Director, Ph.D. Program, School of Social Work
Read More

Katherine van Wormer
Professor Emerita of Social Work - University of Northern Iowa
Read More

Johanna K.P. Greeson
Ph.D., MSS, MLSP - Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice - University of Pennsylvania
Read More

Ezekiel Dixon-Roman
Professor of Critical Race, Media, and Educational Studies; Director, Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College – Columbia University
Read More

Darcey H. Merritt
MSW, Ph.D. – Professor, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice – The University of Chicago
Read More

Patricia A. McManus
Professor of Sociology, The College of Arts & Sciences – Indiana University
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to assess the living and economic conditions of children across the nation, WalletHub compared the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) Socio-economic Welfare, 2) Health and 3) Education.

We evaluated those dimensions using 25 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the worst conditions for children. Except where noted otherwise, all references to “children” in the metrics below refer to the population aged 0 to 17.

Finally, we determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Socio-economic Welfare – Total Points: 50

• Share of Children in Foster Care: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Share of Children in Single-Parent Families: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Share of Children Living with Grandparents & No Parent in the Home: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Children in Renter vs. Owner Households: Half Weight (~2.38 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the ratio of children living in renter-occupied housing units to children living in owner-occupied housing units.
• Unaccompanied Homeless Children & Youth Rate: Double Weight (~9.52 Points)
• Share of Children Living in Low-Income Households Where No Adults Work: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Share of Children under Age 18 Whose Parents Lack Secure Employment: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
  Note: The share of all children under age 18 in families where no parent has regular, full-time employment.
• Share of Children Living in Households with Below-Poverty Income: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Change in the Share of Children Living in Households with Below-Poverty Income: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Share of Children Living in Extreme Poverty: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of children living in families earning incomes less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

Health – Total Points: 25

• Share of Maltreated Children: Double Weight (~4.17 Points)
• Share of Adolescents 9th to 12th Grade Who Felt Sad or Hopeless During the Past Year: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
  Note: Students who live in poverty experience a greater degree of adverse experiences, which contributes to mental illness.
• Child Food-Insecurity Rate: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 Births): Double Weight (~4.17 Points)
• Child Death Rate: Double Weight (~4.17 Points)
  Note: Child include the population aged 1 to 14. Death rate is calculated on 100,000 population.
• Share of Children Suffering from Depression: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Share of Uninsured Children: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
  Note: “Children” include the population aged 0 to 18.
• Share of Poor Children Lacking All Seven Recommended Vaccines: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
  Note: “Recommended vaccines” include the following: DTaP vaccine; polio vaccine; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine; Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine; varicella (chicken pox) vaccine; hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine; and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). “Poor children” include the population aged 0 to 35 months who live in households with incomes below poverty level.
• Share of Children with Unaffordable Medical Bills: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the percentage of children aged 0 to 17 living in families who had problems or were unable to pay for the child’s medical bills.

Education – Total Points: 25

• Public High School Graduation Rate: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
• Public High School Graduation Rate Among Economically Disadvantaged Students: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
• Young Children Not Enrolled in School: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
  Note: “Young Children” include the population aged 3 to 4.
• State Spending per Child Enrolled in Preschool: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
  Note: This metric refers to the amount of all reported funds – local, state, and federal – spent per child participating in pre-K program.
• Quality of Public School System: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “States with the Best & Worst School Systems” ranking.
• Share of Teens Neither Attending School, Nor Working: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
  Note: “Teens” include the population aged 16 to 19.

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of July 9, 2025 from the U.S. Census Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Education Statistics, National Alliance to End Homelessness, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, National Institute for Early Education Research, Feeding America and WalletHub research.

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