Kids Count Data Center

Definitions: Overall Ranks for 2000 through 2007/2008 for each state using a consistent set of indicators; namely those used to derive the rank reported in the 2010 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The rank for each state was obtained in the following manner. First, we converted the 2008 (or 2007, depending on the indicator) state numerical values for each of the 10 key indicators into standard scores. We then summed those standard scores to create a total standard score for each of the 50 states. 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.

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data gathered for the 2002 through 2010 KIDS COUNT data books.

Footnotes: Updated July 2010.
The Indicators used in the KIDS COUNT Data Books have changed over time, making year-to-year comparisons of state ranks problematic. Overall Ranks are the best source of information to see whether a particular state improved in ranking over the past few years. Note that state ranks in each year are based on data from the previous year for five measures and data from the current year for the other five measures. In other words, data for the Percent Low-Birthweight Babies, Infant Mortality Rate, Child Death Rate, Teen Death Rate, and Teen Birth Rate lag one year behind the other measures.

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. The 2007 data for Kansas were updated by National Center for Health Statistics after the release of the preliminary report and therefore differs from the estimate in that report. 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. 2007 state level rates are preliminary from the National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report, Births: Preliminary Data for 2007, Vol. 57, No. 12. The 2007 final estimates will be updated as soon as they are available. 1990 through 2006 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. More...

Footnotes: Updated July 2010.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.

Definitions: Deaths occurring to infants under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births. The data are reported by the place of residence, not the place of death. More...

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 2006-2007 data: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Multiple Causes of Death Public Use Files for 2006 and 2007 CD-Rom and Births: VitalStats http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/vitalstats.htm.
2005 data: Special tabulations from CDC, NCHS, Division of Vital Statistics and Births: Final Data for 2005, National Vital Statistics Reports.
2003-2004 data: Multiple Causes of Death Public Use Files for 2003-2004 CD-Rom, National Center for Health Statistics and Births: Final Data for 2003 and 2004, National Vital Statistics Reports.
1999-2002 data: Infant Mortality Statistics from the 1999-2002 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set, National Vital Statistics Reports. Tables A, B.
1996-1998 data: Deaths, Final Data, National Vital Statistics Reports.
1990-1995 data:  Advance Report of Final Mortality Statistics, 1990-1995, Monthly Vital Statistics Reports.
Note: Birth Data for the city of Miami and Jacksonville is not available for 2004 and 2005. The National Center for Health Statistics is investigating a possible data error that might have occurred. More information will be available soon. More...

Footnotes: Updated July 2010.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.

Definitions: Deaths to children between ages 1 and 14, 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. Rates are not available for cities. Because population estimates for cities by gender and age are not available, it is not possible to calculate rates and therefore data for cities are limited to just the number of child deaths.
More...

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 2003-2007 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 2003-2007 CD-Rom.
2000-2002 data: Final Data for 2000-2002, National Vital Statistics Reports.
1999 data: Deaths From 358 Selected Causes, by 5-Year Age Groups, Race and Sex: U.S. and Each State.
1997-1998 data: Deaths From 282 Selected Causes, by 5-Year Age Groups, Race and Sex: U.S. and Each State.
1996 data: Special tabulations accessed online through CDC WONDER.
1990-1995 data: Special tabulations by CDC, NCHS, Division of Vital Statistics.

Population Statistics: U.S. Census Bureau
2001-2007 data: State Characteristics Population Estimates File, accessed online.
2000 data: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data, Table P14. 1996-1999 data: Intercensal State and County Characteristics Population Estimates File, accessed online.
1990-1995 data: Population Division. 2001-2002 data: State Characteristics Population Estimates File, accessed online.
2000 data: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data, Table P14. More...

Footnotes: Updated July 2010.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.

Definitions: Deaths to teens between age 15 and 19 per 100,000 teens in this age group. The data are reported by the place of residence, not the place where the death occurred. More...

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 2003-2007 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 2003-2007 CD-Rom.

2002 data: Special tabulations from CDC, NCHS, Division of Vital Statistics, Worktable III. Deaths From 358 Selected Causes, by 5-Year Age Groups, Race, and Sex: United States and Each State.

2000-2001 data: CDC, NCHS, Division of Vital Statistics, Worktable III. Deaths from 358 selected causes, by 5-year age groups, race, and sex: United States and Each State.

Population Statistics: U.S. Census Bureau.
2001 through 2007 data: State Characteristics Population Estimates File, accessed online. 2000 data: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data, Table P14.
1996 through1999 data: Intercensal State and County Characteristics Population Estimates File, accessed online.
1990 through 1995 data: Data from Population Division. More...

Footnotes: Updated July 2010.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.

Definitions: Births to teenagers by age group. Rate is per 1,000 females in each age group. Data reflect the mother’s place of residence, rather than the place of the birth. More...

Data Source: 2007 state level estimates are preliminary from State Health Department for each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For more information on the individual Health Departments, contact KIDSCOUNT@prb.org. The 2007 final estimates will be updated as soon as they are available.
2006 data: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, VitalStats. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/vitalstats.htm.
2005 data: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, VitalStats. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/vitalstats.htm.
2005 and 2006 United States resident population 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/ 
Birth Data for the city of Miami and Jacksonville is not available for 2004 and 2005. The National Center for Health Statistics is investigating a possible data error that might have occurred. More information will be available soon.
Child Trends analysis of 1990-2004 Natality Data Set CD Series (SETS versions), and (ASCII version), National Center for Health Statistics. More...

Footnotes: Updated July 2010.
S – NCHS reporting standards not met. N.A. – Data not available.

Definitions: Teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 who are not enrolled in high school and are not high school graduates. Those who have a GED or equivalent are included as high school graduates in this measure. The measure used here is defined as a “status dropout” rate. Inclusion of the group quarters population in the ACS in 2007 could have a noticeable impact on the universe population for this age group. Therefore, the 2007 ACS estimates might not be fully comparable to estimates prior to 2006. This measure focuses on teens ages 16 to 19 rather than young adults 16 to 24 because a large share of 18- to 24-year-olds migrate across state lines each year. The high interstate migration rates confound the connection between state policies and programs and state dropout rates. Raw numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. More...

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

Footnotes: Updated September 2009.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Teens ages 16 to 19 not in school and not high school graduates.

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.”

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

Footnotes: Updated March 2010.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Teens ages 16 to 19 not attending school and not working.

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 American Community Survey.

Footnotes: Updated March 2010.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. 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 under age 18 who live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition. In calendar year 2008, a family of two adults and two children fell in the “poverty” category if their annual income fell below $21,834. 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 2008 American Community Survey. The data for this measure come from the 2000 and 2001 Supplementary Survey and the 2002 through 2008 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.) More...

Footnotes: Updated September 2009.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in poverty.

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 2008 American Community Survey (ACS). The data for this measure come from the 2000 and 2001 Supplementary Survey and the 2002 through 2008 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.) More...

Footnotes: Updated July 2010.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in single-parent families.