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Children in Poverty Racial Disparity
Children in Poverty Racial Disparity in United States
United States

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Children in Poverty Racial Disparity by State

Ratio of the childhood poverty rate of the racial/ethnic group with the highest rate (varies by state) to the non-Hispanic white rate




Children in Poverty Racial Disparity Trends

Ratio of the childhood poverty rate of the racial/ethnic group with the highest rate (varies by state) to the non-Hispanic white rate


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Children in Poverty Racial Disparity



About Children in Poverty Racial Disparity

US Value: 3.0

Top State(s): West Virginia: 1.9

Bottom State(s): South Dakota: 7.1

Definition: Ratio of the childhood poverty rate of the racial/ethnic group with the highest rate (varies by state) to the non-Hispanic white rate

Data Source and Years: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2016-2020

Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2023.

Large and persistent disparities exist in the proportion of children living in poverty by race and ethnicity. Families with incomes below the federal poverty level may struggle to consistently meet the basic needs of their children. Exposure to chronic stress associated with poverty, including unreliable access to food, health care and stable housing, may impair childhood development and lead to long-term adverse health outcomes at any stage of life:  

  • Birth: Mothers living in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to give birth prematurely and have low birthweight babies.
  • Childhood: Obesity, asthma and emergency room visits are more common among children living in poverty compared with those not living in poverty. Impoverished and low-income children often have greater need for health services, particularly for mental health.
  • Adolescence: As impoverished children grow up, they are more likely to engage in risky or unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking cigarettes, and less likely to complete high school.
  • Adulthood: Obesity, risk factors for cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and premature mortality are all associated with low socioeconomic status during childhood. Childhood poverty has also been linked to difficulty with emotional regulation that lasts into adulthood regardless of changes in income status, and is associated with development of physical and mental health issues later in life.

Living in poverty can negatively affect a child’s ability to succeed in school and their future earnings. One estimate of the annual societal costs of childhood poverty in the United States, including lost potential earnings and costs of poor health, came out to $1.03 trillion.

Poverty is a fundamental cause of health disparities. The prevalence of poverty is higher among:

Recent innovations to mitigate the adverse effects of childhood poverty utilize the two-generation approach, which promotes family resilience by combining support and education programs for parents with early childhood intervention programs into a stronger, whole family experience.

Many government programs and community interventions exist to help reduce the number of children in poverty and support low-income families:

  • The earned income tax credit (EITC), the largest U.S. poverty-alleviation program, provides a tax credit to employed families and individuals living in poverty. Research shows the benefits of the program include decreased prevalence of low birthweight and preterm birth and increases in breastfeeding. One study calculated that an annual $3,000 from the EITC for a family with a child under 5 will result in an average 19% increase in future earnings for the child.
  • The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, provides nutrition benefits to families in need.
  • The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides food and nutritional support specifically for pregnant and postpartum women and children. The WIC program has been associated with a lower prevalence of low birthweight, with greater gains among women with low education.
  • Child First is a comprehensive program that provides financial, housing and food assistance and early childhood interventions for low-income families. 
  • Medicaid provides health care to low-income adults, pregnant women and children.
  • Universal basic income programs can provide those living in poverty with regular cash transfers to meet basic needs regardless of employment status, age or other restrictive conditions.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine proposed four policy packages that would reduce child poverty by 24%-52% while using existing policy options to maximize effectiveness.

While not specific to children, reducing the percentage of the population living in poverty is a Healthy People 2030 economic stability objective.

Bringewatt, Elizabeth H., and Elizabeth T. Gershoff. “Falling through the Cracks: Gaps and Barriers in the Mental Health System for America’s Disadvantaged Children.” Children and Youth Services Review 32, no. 10 (October 2010): 1291–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.04.021.

Chaudry, Ajay, and Christopher Wimer. “Poverty Is Not Just an Indicator: The Relationship Between Income, Poverty, and Child Well-Being.” Academic Pediatrics 16, no. 3 (April 2016): S23–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.12.010.

Duncan, Greg J., Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, and Ariel Kalil. “Early-Childhood Poverty and Adult Attainment, Behavior, and Health.” Child Development 81, no. 1 (January 2010): 306–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01396.x.

Hamad, Rita, and David H. Rehkopf. “Poverty, Pregnancy, and Birth Outcomes: A Study of the Earned Income Tax Credit.” Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 29, no. 5 (September 2015): 444–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.12211.

Hoynes, Hilary, Marianne Page, and Ann Huff Stevens. “Can Targeted Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes?: Evidence from the Introduction of the WIC Program.” Journal of Public Economics 95, no. 7 (August 1, 2011): 813–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2010.12.006.

Hoynes, Hilary W., and Ankur J. Patel. “Effective Policy for Reducing Inequality? The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Distribution of Income.” Working Paper 21340. National Bureau of Economic Research, July 2015. https://doi.org/10.3386/w21340.

Kim, Pilyoung, Gary W. Evans, Michael Angstadt, S. Shaun Ho, Chandra S. Sripada, James E. Swain, Israel Liberzon, and K. Luan Phan. “Effects of Childhood Poverty and Chronic Stress on Emotion Regulatory Brain Function in Adulthood.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 46 (November 12, 2013): 18442–47. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1308240110.

McLaughlin, Michael, and Mark R. Rank. “Estimating the Economic Cost of Childhood Poverty in the United States.” Social Work Research 42, no. 2 (June 1, 2018): 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svy007.

Moore, Kristin Anderson, Zakia Redd, Mary Burkhauser, Kassim Mbwana, and Ashleigh Collins. “Children in Poverty: Trends, Consequences, and Policy Options.” Research Brief. Washington, D.C.: Child Trends, April 1, 2009. https://www.childtrends.org/publications/children-in-poverty-trends-consequences-and-policy-options-april-2009.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty. Edited by Greg Duncan and Suzanne Le Menestrel. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.17226/25246.

Ncube, Collette N., Daniel A. Enquobahrie, Steven M. Albert, Amy L. Herrick, and Jessica G. Burke. “Association of Neighborhood Context with Offspring Risk of Preterm Birth and Low Birthweight: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Population-Based Studies.” Social Science & Medicine 153 (March 2016): 156–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.02.014.

Odgers, Candice L., and Sara R. Jaffee. “Routine Versus Catastrophic Influences on the Developing Child.” Annual Review of Public Health 34, no. 1 (March 18, 2013): 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114447.

Power, Chris, Diana Kuh, and Susan Morton. “From Developmental Origins of Adult Disease to Life Course Research on Adult Disease and Aging: Insights from Birth Cohort Studies.” Annual Review of Public Health 34, no. 1 (March 18, 2013): 7–28. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114423.

Sandel, Megan, Elena Faugno, Angela Mingo, Jessie Cannon, Kymberly Byrd, Dolores Acevedo Garcia, Sheena Collier, Elizabeth McClure, and Renée Boynton Jarrett. “Neighborhood-Level Interventions to Improve Childhood Opportunity and Lift Children Out of Poverty.” Academic Pediatrics 16, no. 3 (April 2016): S128–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2016.01.013.

Wilson-Simmons, Renée, Yang Jiang, and Yumiko Aratani. “Strong at the Broken Places: The Resiliency of Low-Income Parents.” New York: National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, April 2017. https://www.nccp.org/publication/strong-at-the-broken-places/.

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