What does a child need to thrive?

Most people know that children need shelter, food and love to be happy and healthy, but there’s more to consider. Child wellbeing can be affected by the child’s own personality and by those around them, such as their family and community. But larger systemic trends in a child’s home state also have a direct impact on their wellbeing.

The 2026 KIDS COUNT® DATA BOOK from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is an annual study of children across the United States, measuring state-specific factors at play in determining overall wellbeing. The data offers key insights into the overall health and wellness of children. The report analyses how certain factors affect children differently depending on where they live. 

This 2026 edition paints a complex picture: steady progress in some areas, setbacks in others and persistent opportunities to do better for kids and their families. Bright spots include reductions in child poverty and improvements in family economic stability.

The wellbeing of children is also shaped by their communities, and we continue to see encouraging trends in the Family and Community indicators. Teen birth rates declined further, more children lived in families where the head of household had at least a high school diploma, and fewer children lived in high-poverty neighbourhoods. At the same time, education continues to be the area of greatest concern, with reading proficiency, math proficiency and preschool participation all moving in the wrong direction since before the pandemic. Nationally, just seven of the 16 key indicators improved, while another seven worsened and two remained unchanged.

Armed with this information, organisations like KVC, as well as parents and caregivers, can understand the different challenges families and children may be facing. Legislators can make informed policy decisions. And individuals can also use this data to take action, donate, volunteer or get more involved in improving the lives of children and teens in their community.

What Contributes to a Child’s Wellbeing

The KIDS COUNT Data Book looks specifically at four domains to measure overall child wellbeing: economic, education, health and family/community factors. Looking at these four categories provides a closer look at child wellbeing, highlighting bright spots in states as well as areas with room for improvement. 

The study looks at four “key indicators” within each category, showing how measurements contribute to the overall picture of how a state is doing.

Here are the 16 key indicators of child wellbeing: 

•  Economic factors
  • Children in poverty
  • Children whose parents lack secure employment 
  • Children living in households with a high housing cost burden
  • Teens not in school and not working 
• Education factors 
  • Young children not in school (ages 3 & 4)
  • Fourth graders not proficient in reading
  • Eighth graders not proficient in math
  • High school students not graduating on time
• Health factors  
  • Low birth-weight babies
  • Children without health insurance
  • Child and teen deaths per 10,000
  • Children and teens who are overweight or obese (ages 10–17)
• Family and Community factors  
  • Children in single-parent families 
  • Children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma 
  • Children living in high-poverty areas
  • Teen births per 1,000

Progress in Family and Community Indicators

The strongest national progress continues to come from the Family and Community domain, where three of the four indicators improved compared to pre-pandemic years.

We continue to see encouraging trends, including:

• 11% of children live in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma (improved from 12% in 2019)
• 7% of children now live in high-poverty neighbourhoods (down from 9% before the pandemic)
• 13 teen births per 1,000 females ages 15-19, continuing a decades-long decline from 17 per 1,000 in 2019
• 34% of children live in single-parent families, remaining stable

These improvements matter because children thrive when families have greater educational attainment, stronger economic opportunities and stable communities. Fewer children growing up in concentrated poverty creates better opportunities for healthy development and long-term success.

New Findings on Wellbeing and Learning Loss

While several indicators improved, education remains the area experiencing the greatest setbacks. Three of the four education indicators worsened compared to pre-pandemic years, highlighting the lasting impact of COVID-19 disruptions.

According to the latest data:

• 54% of young children ages 3–4 are not enrolled in preschool (up from 52%)
• 70% of fourth graders are not proficient in reading (up from 66%)
• 73% of eighth graders are not proficient in math (up from 67%)
• 13% of students are not graduating high school on time, showing a slight improvement from 14%

Health indicators also reveal ongoing concerns:

• 8.5% of babies are born with a low birth weight, continuing a long-term upward trend.
• Child and teen deaths increased from  25 to 27 deaths per 100,000, although the rate has improved slightly over the last two years.
• The percentage of children without health insurance remained steady at 6%.
• One encouraging trend is that childhood obesity among youth ages 10–17 improved slightly, decreasing from 31% to 30%.

Root Causes and Educational Outcomes

We’ve seen the greatest setbacks in education, with preschool enrollment, reading proficiency and math proficiency all declining since before the pandemic. Early learning opportunities remain out of reach for many families, and reading and math scores continue to reflect unfinished learning from the pandemic years. Although high school graduation rates have continued to improve, millions of children are still not receiving the educational support they need early enough.

The data also reminds us that children’s academic success is closely connected to their overall wellbeing. Economic hardship, housing instability, mental health challenges and limited access to community resources all influence a child’s ability to succeed in school. Addressing these challenges requires more than classroom instruction—it requires strengthening the systems that support families every day.

“Behind every number in this report is a child who is either hungry or fed, housed or homeless, progressing academically or falling behind. No state is consistently getting this right. The Data Book challenges us to follow the evidence and do what delivers results.”

-Lisa Hamilton, President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Connection Can Turn the Tide 

Behind every statistic is a child and family navigating unique challenges. Many families face multiple stressors at once, including poverty, mental health needs, substance use, housing instability and systemic inequities. When families have a trusted partner helping them navigate those challenges, children are more likely to experience stability at home and success in school.

Connection to caring adults, community resources and evidence-based services can make all the difference. Programs that strengthen families, provide in-home support, improve access to behavioral healthcare and connect parents with educational resources help remove barriers that prevent children from thriving.

At KVC, we know that meaningful relationships are at the centre of lasting change. By partnering alongside families—not simply providing services—we help build resilience, strengthen parenting skills and create safer, healthier environments where children can learn, grow and reach their full potential.

How Does Your State Rank?

Nationally, just seven of the 16 child wellbeing indicators improved, while another seven worsened and two remained steady compared to pre-pandemic years. The updated 2026 Data Book also introduces a new scoring system that measures each state’s progress over time in addition to its ranking, providing a more complete picture of how children are faring.

The top-ranked states for overall child wellbeing in 2026 are:

1. New Hampshire
2. Massachusetts
3. Utah
4. Vermont
5. Minnesota
6. New Jersey
7. Connecticut
8. Wisconsin
9. Nebraska
10. Iowa

As in previous years, many Northeastern states continue to rank among the nation’s highest. Southern states generally face greater challenges and Western states show the most uneven outcomes for kids. However, all areas of the country have states with stronger and weaker child outcomes, and every state has opportunities to improve. View the full list of state rankings here.

How is KVC Working to Improve Children’s Overall Wellbeing?

KVC Health Systems has a long history of strengthening families, developing parenting skills and equipping families to prevent the need for foster care. For nearly 200 years, we’ve provided heart-centred service to children and families in need, becoming a national leader in mental health and child welfare.

Often, factors like poor economic resources or lack of access to healthcare lead families to struggle. But we know that any type of disruption can greatly impact a child. One of our services across our entire network is in-home family support, which aims to ensure that families have the skills needed to safely care for their children, help parents find jobs where they can earn a suitable wage, and work with them to access healthcare. Success out in the world starts with stability at home. 

In addition to resources supporting children and youth in foster care and reunification, KVC provides mental health services throughout our network, including Camber Mental Health hospitals. The Children’s Mercy + Camber Mental Health campus in Olathe is providing life-saving psychiatric care for children and teens. KVC’s newest children’s mental health hospital in Webster Groves, Missouri, is opening in 2026 and will expand access to critical mental health services for even more families.

Thanks to our team members, foster families, volunteers and generous supporters, KVC positively impacts more than 85,000 people’s lives each year through in-home family strengthening services, foster care, adoption, mental health treatment, inpatient psychiatric care and educational support programs. Learn more about how we’re working to help children and teens in Kansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Nebraska here.