Where the nation’s 2.5 million homeless children live
Child homelessness rates. (National Center on Family Homelessness)
Although the rate of child homelessness in Kentucky is the worst in the nation, at about one in 15 children, the group ranks Alabama the worst overall, when the four factors it considered are grouped together. That state ranks close to the bottom in the National Center for Family Homelessness’s rankings of homelessness, child well-being, risks for becoming homeless and policy.
Here’s a look at how each state ranked along each measure.
1. The big picture on child homelessness
Overall child homelessness ranking
Southern states dominate the bottom of the group’s overall ranking, with Alabama, Mississippi, California, Arkansas and New Mexico faring worst in NCFH’s composite ranking. Minnesota was the top-ranked state, followed by Nebraska, Massachusetts, Iowa and New Jersey.
Southern states dominate the bottom of the group’s overall ranking, with Alabama, Mississippi, California, Arkansas and New Mexico faring worst in NCFH’s composite ranking. Minnesota was the top-ranked state, followed by Nebraska, Massachusetts, Iowa and New Jersey.
2. Where child homelessness rates are worst
New York followed Kentucky with the highest rate of child homelessness. California was next, followed by Alabama and Oklahoma. Connecticut was home to the lowest rate of child homelessness, with a rate of about one per 140 children. New Jersey ranked second, followed by Rhode Island, Nebraska and Pennsylvania. Rates in those four states were about one in 71 or better.
The estimates for how many homeless children live in each state are based on two sets of federal data: an Education Department estimate of homeless children enrolled in public schools and a Census estimate of the child population overall.
Not all homeless children are living on the streets. The Education Department count — 1.3 million — not only includes those living in motels, trailer parks, abandoned buildings, cars, campgrounds, parks and public spaces, but an estimated 75 percent of homeless kids are living with relatives or friends. To arrive at the 2.5 million figure, the researchers applied that in-school estimate to the overall child population.