Kids Count Data Center

Definitions: Overall Ranks for 2012 for each state using a consistent set of indicators; namely those used to derive the rank reported in the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The overall rank for each state was obtained in the following manner. First, we converted the 2010 (or 2008/2009, depending on the indicator) state numerical values for each of the 16 key indicators into standard scores. We summed those standard scores within their domains to create a domain standard score for each of the 50 states. We then summed the four domain standard scores to get a total standard score for each state. Finally, we ranked the states on the basis of their total standard score in sequential order from highest/best (1) to lowest/worst (50). Standard scores were derived by subtracting the mean score from the observed score and dividing the amount by the standard deviation for that distribution of scores. All measures were given the same weight in calculating the total standard score. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data gathered for the 2012 KIDS COUNT data book.

Footnotes: Updated July 2012.

Definitions: Economic Ranks for 2012 for each state using a consistent set of economic indicators; namely those used to derive the rank reported in the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book.
The Economic Rank for each state was obtained in the following manner. First, we converted the 2010 (or 2008/2009, depending on the indicator) state numerical values for each of the 4 key indicators within each domain into standard scores. We summed those standard scores in each domain to get a total standard score for each state. Finally, we ranked the states on the basis of their total standard score by domain in sequential order from highest/best (1) to lowest/worst (50). Standard scores were derived by subtracting the mean score from the observed score and dividing the amount by the standard deviation for that distribution of scores. All measures were given the same weight in calculating the domain standard score. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data gathered for the 2012 KIDS COUNT data book.

Footnotes: Updated July 2012.

Definitions: The share of children under age 18 who live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition. In calendar year 2011, a family of two adults and two children fell in the “poverty” category if their annual income fell below $22,811. Poverty status is not determined for people in military barracks, institutional quarters, or for unrelated individuals under age 15 (such as foster children).  The data are based on income received in the 12 months prior to the survey. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, 2001 Supplementary Survey, 2002 through 2011 American Community Survey. The data for this measure come from the 2000 and 2001 Supplementary Survey and the 2002 through 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The 2000 through 2004 ACS surveyed approximately 700,000 households monthly during each calendar year. In general but particularly for these years, use caution when interpreting estimates for less populous states or indicators representing small sub-populations, where the sample size is relatively small. Beginning in January 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau expanded the ACS sample to 3 million households (full implementation), and in January 2006 the ACS included group quarters. The ACS, fully implemented, is designed to provide annually updated social, economic, and housing data for states and communities. (Such local-area data have traditionally been collected once every ten years in the long form of the decennial census.) More...

Footnotes: Updated September 2012.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available.
Data are provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts.  Cities for which data is collected may change over time.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in poverty.

Definitions: The share of all children under age 18 living in families where no parent has regular, full-time employment. For children living in single-parent families, this means the resident parent did not work at least 35 hours per week, at least 50 weeks in the 12 months prior to the survey. For children living in married-couple families, this means neither parent worked at least 35 hours per week, at least 50 weeks in the 12 months prior to the survey. Children living with neither parent were listed as not having secure parental employment because those children are likely to be economically vulnerable. Children under age 18 who are householders, spouses of householders, or unmarried partners of householders were excluded from this analysis. This measure is very similar to the measure called "Secure Parental Employment," used by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics in its publication America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 - 2011 American Community Survey.

Footnotes: Updated December 2012.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available.
Data are provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts.  Cities for which data is collected may change over time.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment .

Definitions: The share of children living in households where more than 30 percent of the monthly income was spent on rent, mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and/or related expenses. The 30 percent threshold for housing costs is based on research on affordable housing by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development (HUD). According to HUD, households that must allocate more than 30 percent of their income to housing expenses are less likely to have enough resources for food, clothing, medical care or other needs.
More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 through 2011 American Community Survey. Beginning in January 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau expanded the ACS sample to 3 million households (full implementation), and in January 2006 the ACS included group quarters. The ACS, fully implemented, is designed to provide annually updated social, economic, and housing data for states and communities. (Such local-area data have traditionally been collected once every ten years in the long form of the decennial census.) More...

Footnotes: Updated November 2012.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available.
Data are provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts.  Cities for which data is collected may change over time.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at
Children in households that spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

Definitions: Teenagers between age 16 and 19 who are not enrolled in school (full- or part-time) and not employed (full- or part-time).
This measure is sometimes referred to as “Idle Teens” or “Disconnected Youth.” More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 - 2011 American Community Survey.

Footnotes: Updated November 2012.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available.
Data are provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts.  Cities for which data is collected may change over time.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Teens ages 16 to 19 not attending school and not working.

Definitions: Education Ranks for 2012 for each state using a consistent set of economic indicators; namely those used to derive the rank reported in the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The Education Rank for each state was obtained in the following manner. First, we converted the2010 (or 2008/2009, depending on the indicator) state numerical values for each of the 4 key indicators within each domain into standard scores. We summed those standard scores in each domain to get a total standard score for each state. Finally, we ranked the states on the basis of their total standard score by domain in sequential order from highest/best (1) to lowest/worst (50). Standard scores were derived by subtracting the mean score from the observed score and dividing the amount by the standard deviation for that distribution of scores. All measures were given the same weight in calculating the domain standard score. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data gathered for the 2012 KIDS COUNT data book.

Footnotes: Updated July 2012.

Definitions: The share of children ages 3 to 4 not enrolled in nursery school or preschool school during the previous two months.
"Nursery school" and "preschool" include any group or class of institution providing educational experiences for children during the years preceding kindergarten. Places where instruction is an integral part of the program are included, but private homes that primarily provide custodial care are not included. Children enrolled in programs sponsored by federal, state or local agencies to provide preschool education to young children--including Head Start programs--are considered as enrolled in nursery school or preschool. Children enrolled in kindergarten are excluded from this analysis.

Due to small sample size, the 3-year American Community Survey was used to increase accuracy of the estimates.  More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-07 to 2009-11 three-year American Community Survey.

Footnotes: Updated November 2012.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children ages 3 to 4 not enrolled in preschool.

Definitions: Fourth grade public school students’ reading achievement levels, as measured and defined by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test. For a more detailed description of achievement levels see: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/Reading/achieveall.asp. Public schools include charter schools and exclude Bureau of Indian Education schools and Department of Defense Education Activity schools. More...

Data Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  Available online at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/.

Footnotes: Updated November 2011.
S – NAEP reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at 4th grade reading achievement levels.

Definitions: 8th grade public school students’ mathematics achievement levels, as measured and defined by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). For a more detailed description of achievement levels see: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/Mathematics/achieveall.asp. Public schools include charter schools and exclude Bureau of Indian Education schools and Department of Defense Education Activity schools. More...

Data Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Available online at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard. 

Footnotes: Updated November 2011.
S – NAEP reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at 8th grade math achievement levels.

Definitions: The estimated percentage of an entering freshman class not graduating in 4 years. The measure is derived from the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), which uses aggregate student enrollment data to estimate the size of an incoming freshman class and aggregate counts of the number of regular diplomas awarded four years later. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Completion Data, accessible online at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/drpcompstatelvl.asp. More...

Footnotes: Updated April 2013.
N.A. – Data not available.

Definitions: Health Ranks for 2012 for each state using a consistent set of economic indicators; namely those used to derive the rank reported in the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The Health Rank for each state was obtained in the following manner. First, we converted the 2010(or 2008/2009, depending on the indicator) state numerical values for each of the 4 key indicators within each domain into standard scores. We summed those standard scores in each domain to get a total standard score for each state. Finally, we ranked the states on the basis of their total standard score by domain in sequential order from highest/best (1) to lowest/worst (50). Standard scores were derived by subtracting the mean score from the observed score and dividing the amount by the standard deviation for that distribution of scores. All measures were given the same weight in calculating the domain standard score. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data gathered for the 2012 KIDS COUNT data book.

Footnotes: Updated July 2012.

Definitions: Live births weighing less than 2,500 grams (5.5 pounds). The data reflect the mother’s place of residence, not the place where the birth occurred. Births of unknown weight were not included in these calculations. Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands are not included in the U.S. Average. More...

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 1990 through 2010 state-level estimates are from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), National Vital Statistics Reports or can be accessed through the NCHS VitalStats system. City-level estimates are from public use micro-data files provided by NCHS. More...

Footnotes: Updated January 2013.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.
Data are provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts.  Cities for which data is collected may change over time.

Definitions: Children under age 18 not covered by any health insurance. The data are based on health insurance coverage at the time of the survey; interviews are conducted throughout the calendar year. Children receiving health insurance through a variety of State Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) are counted as having health insurance. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 - 2011 American Community Survey. The data for this measure come from the 2008 through 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS, fully implemented, is designed to provide annually updated social, economic, and housing data for states and communities.
More...

Footnotes: Updated April 2013. S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at

Definitions: Deaths to children between ages 1 and 19, from all causes, per 100,000 children in this age range. The data are reported by the place of residence, not the place where the death occurred. More...

Data Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). 2005 - 2010 data: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Multiple Causes of Death Public Use Files for 2003-2008 CD-Rom.

Population Statistics: U.S. Census Bureau
2001-2010 data: State Characteristics Population Estimates File, accessed online.

More...

Footnotes: Updated February 2013.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.

Definitions: Children age 12 to 17 who reported dependence on or abuse of illicit drugs or alcohol in the past year. Illicit drugs include marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription drugs used non-medically. Dependence or abuse is based on definitions found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This data is based on a 2-year average of survey responses. More...

Data Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2005-06 - 2008-09. Data from annual report: State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2008-2009 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health Report, Appendix B, Table B.20. More...

Footnotes: Updated July 2011.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Teens ages 12 to 17 who abused alcohol or drugs in the past year.

Definitions: Family and Community Ranks for 2012 for each state using a consistent set of economic indicators; namely those used to derive the rank reported in the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The Family and Community Rank for each state was obtained in the following manner. First, we converted the2010 (or 2008/2009, depending on the indicator) state numerical values for each of the 4 key indicators within each domain into standard scores. We summed those standard scores in each domain to get a total standard score for each state. Finally, we ranked the states on the basis of their total standard score by domain in sequential order from highest/best (1) to lowest/worst (50). Standard scores were derived by subtracting the mean score from the observed score and dividing the amount by the standard deviation for that distribution of scores. All measures were given the same weight in calculating the domain standard score.More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data gathered for the 2012 KIDS COUNT data book.

Footnotes: Updated July 2012.

Definitions: Children under age 18 who live with their own single parent either in a family or subfamily.
In this definition, single-parent families may include cohabiting couples and do not include children living with married stepparents. Children who live in group quarters (for example, institutions, dormitories, or group homes) are not included in this calculation. More...

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, 2001 Supplementary Survey and 2002 through 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The data for this measure come from the 2000 and 2001 Supplementary Survey and the 2002 through 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The 2000 through 2004 ACS surveyed approximately 700,000 households monthly during each calendar year. In general but particularly for these years, use caution when interpreting estimates for less populous states or indicators representing small sub-populations, where the sample size is relatively small. Beginning in January 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau expanded the ACS sample to 3 million households (full implementation), and in January 2006 the ACS included group quarters. The ACS, fully implemented, is designed to provide annually updated social, economic, and housing data for states and communities. (Such local-area data have traditionally been collected once every ten years in the long form of the decennial census.) More...

Footnotes: Updated December 2012
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available.
Data is provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts. Cities for which data is collected may change over time.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in single-parent families.

Definitions: The share of all children under age 18 living in households by the head of household’s educational attainment.

The data for this measure come from the 2000 and 2001 Supplementary Survey and the 2002 through 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The 2000 through 2004 ACS surveyed approximately 700,000 households monthly during each calendar year. In general but particularly for these years, use caution when interpreting estimates for less populous states or indicators representing small subpopulations, where the sample size is relatively small. Beginning in January 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau expanded the ACS sample to 3 million households (full implementation), and in January 2006 the ACS included group quarters. The ACS, fully implemented, is designed to provide annually updated social, economic, and housing data for states and communities. (Such local-area data have traditionally been collected once every ten years in the long form of the decennial census.)

Data Source:

Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 through 2011 American Community Survey.

Footnotes:

Updated November 2012.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at 

Definitions: Children living in census tracts with poverty rates of 30 percent or more.

Research indicates that as neighborhood poverty rates increase, undesirable outcomes rise and opportunities for success are less likely. The effects of concentrated poverty begin to appear once neighborhood poverty rates rise above 20 percent and continue to grow as the concentration of poverty increases up to the 40 percent threshold. This indicator defines areas of concentrated poverty as those census tracts with overall poverty rates of 30 percent or more because it is a commonly used threshold that lies between the starting point and leveling off point for negative neighborhood effects. The 2011 federal poverty threshold is $22,811 per year for a family of two adults and two children.

Data Source:

Population Reference Bureau analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census Summary File 1 and Summary File 3 and the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-year data.

Footnotes: Updated April 2013.

S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available.

Data is provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts. Cities for which data is collected may change over time.

A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at:  Children living in areas of concentrated poverty.

Definitions: Births to teenagers 15 to 19 years old. Rate is per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19. Data reflect the mother’s place of residence, rather than the place of the birth. More...

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division: 1990 through 2010 state births are from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), National Vital Statistics Reports or can be accessed through the NCHS VitalStats system. City births are from public use micro-data files provided by NCHS.1990 through 2010 United States resident population estimates of females ages 15-19 from the State Characteristics Population Estimates File by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin, 6 race groups - 5 race alone groups and one multiple race group accessed online at http://www.census.gov/popest/
Teen birth rates for cities are not available due to the absence of population estimates for females ages 15 to 19 for all cities. The total number of teen births, however, are available and posted for each age group. More...

Footnotes: Updated February 2013.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.
Data are provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts.  Cities for which data is collected may change over time.