Kids Count Data Center

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: 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: 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: 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 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.