With August being Child Support Awareness Month and 1 in 7 children in the U.S. living in poverty, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s States With the Most Underprivileged Children, as well as expert commentary.
In order to bring awareness to the condition of underprivileged children throughout the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key measures of neediness. The data set ranges from share of children in households with below-poverty income to child food-insecurity rate to share of maltreated children.
| States with the Most Underprivileged Kids |
|---|
| 1. New Mexico | 11. Alabama |
| 2. Alaska | 12. South Dakota |
| 3. Louisiana | 13. South Carolina |
| 4. Oklahoma | 14. Arizona |
| 5. Mississippi | 15. Montana |
| 6. West Virginia | 16. Oregon |
| 7. District of Columbia | 17. Tennessee |
| 8. Arkansas | 18. Ohio |
| 9. Nevada | 19. Georgia |
| 10. Kentucky | 20. Wyoming |
Key Stats
- Louisiana has the highest child food-insecurity rate, which is two times higher than in Massachusetts, the state with the lowest.
- Mississippi has the most infant deaths (per 1,000 live births), which is 2.9 times more than in New Hampshire, the state with the fewest.
- West Virginia has the highest share of children in foster care, which is 13.8 times higher than in New Jersey, the state with the lowest.
- Texas has the highest share of uninsured children aged 0 to 18, which is 7.9 times higher than in Massachusetts, the state with the lowest.
- Massachusetts has the highest share of maltreated children, which is 11.3 times higher than in New Jersey, the state with the lowest.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-underprivileged-children/5403
