States Where the Most Children Lost Homes

Some 2.3 million American children, or 3% of them, lost their homes during the recession, according to a recent report. An additional 3 million children are at risk of losing their homes as their families fight foreclosure and delinquency. The consequences are far-reaching as many are pushed into homelessness.

Read The States Where the Most Children Lost Homes

Of course, the situation is different between the states, with some having a considerably higher percentage of children affected by the foreclosure crisis. 24/7 Wall St. examined the ten states where the largest percentage of children lost their homes during the recession.

According to the report, published jointly by Brookings and First Focus, more than half the foreclosures occurred in only 10 states. Similarly, more than half the children who lost their homes live in just 10 states, though not all the states are the same. About 1.7 million of the approximately 2.3 million foreclosed homes, as of February 1, 2011, were in just 10 states, and 1.58 million of the 2.33 million children who lost their homes live in only 10 states.

The impact on the children who lost their homes can vary significantly, depending on the state. In several states on this list, including Virginia, Rhode Island and Minnesota, there are a relatively small percentage of homes with families living below the poverty line. In Michigan, Georgia, Florida and Arizona, however, more than 20% of families with children are living below the poverty line. The families who have lost their homes in the poorer states are less likely to be able to afford alternate cheap housing. As a result, children living in these homes will be more affected by foreclosure than children of wealthier families.

One major cause for the high rates of foreclosure in these regions is the substantial decline in home values during the height of the recession, namely from the first quarter of 2006 to 2010. Nine of the 10 states on 24/7 Wall St.’s list are among the 15 states that experienced the largest drops in home prices during this period.

These states also have been hit particularly hard by other aspects of the recession. Seven of the 10 states where the most children lost homes had among the highest unemployment rates in the country in 2011.

In the report, “The Ongoing Impact of Foreclosures on Children,” Brookings examined mortgages in every state that originated during the prerecession 2004 to 2008 period. Of those homes, Brookings calculated the percentage that, as of February 2011, had been foreclosed, as well as the percentage of homes that were either in foreclosure or 60 days or more delinquent on their payments. These numbers do not include rentals. Brookings estimated the number of children affected by these foreclosures based on population data from the U.S. census bureau.  Based on Brookings’ report and census data, we calculated the percentage of each state’s children that were affected directly by completed foreclosures. 24/7 Wall St. also looked at additional data, including unemployment rates, poverty, poverty rates for families with children and home price declines.

These are the states where the most children lost homes.

10. Georgia
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 3.7%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 8% (tied for 5th highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 93,000 (7th most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 4.9% (20th lowest)

The average home in Georgia lost exactly one-quarter of its value from 2006 to the first quarter of 2011. The state also has a severe mortgage delinquency issue. In 2011, 8% of homes were 60 or more days late on their mortgage payments — one of the country’s highest rates. Georgia also has a particularly high rate of 22.8% of families with children living below the poverty line, which helps shed light on why the state has such a high percentage of children have lost their homes to foreclosure.

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9. Virginia
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 3.8%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 6% (tied for 11th highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 71,900 (9th most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 7.5% (8th highest)

Between the beginning of 2006 and 2011, Virginia homes lost 28% of their value — the eighth-worst decline in the country. Consequently, 6% of homes with mortgages originated between 2004 and 2008 have been foreclosed. However, the children who lost their homes because of these foreclosures actually may be in a better position than those in many other states. Only 13.3% of families with children in the state are living below the poverty line, which is the ninth-lowest rate in the country.

8. Rhode Island
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 4.0%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 6% (tied for 11th highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 9,000 (14th fewest)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 6.3% (19th highest)

Rhode Island was hit particularly hard by the recession and continues to suffer its effects. From the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2011, home prices fell 25% in the state. The unemployment rate in the state for 2010 was 11.4% — the fourth highest in the country. More than 9% of children have either lost their homes to foreclosure, are in the process of losing their home or are in danger of losing their home because of delinquent mortgages. This is the country’s sixth-largest share. The percentage of children affected by completed foreclosures alone is the eighth largest.

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7. Colorado
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 4.4%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 8% (tied for 5th highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 54,000 (12th most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 8.5% (5th highest)

Compared to most states with the highest levels of foreclosure, and therefore the largest percentage of children affected by foreclosures, Colorado does not fit the description. Homes in the state only lost 11.8% of their value between 2006 and 2011. Meanwhile, poverty and median income are better than they are in much of the country. Despite all these, Colorado still had roughly 8% of homes with mortgages taken out between 2004 and 2008 foreclosed upon as of February 2011, tied for the fifth-highest percentage in the country. Nearly one in 20 children in the state already lost his or her home to foreclosure.

6. Minnesota
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 4.5%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 8% (tied for 5th highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 57,000 (11th most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 7.1% (10th highest)

Home prices fell 36.8% from the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2011 in Minnesota — the sixth-largest decline in the country. Additionally, 80.4% of impoverished households have children — among the largest percentages in the United States. This causes foreclosures among the poor to affect children even more severely in the state. Minnesota also has one of the highest rates of mortgaged homes that have been foreclosed between 2004 and 2008, at 8%. As a result, the state has one of the highest percentages of children who lost their family home.

5. Florida
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 4.8%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 8% (tied for 5th highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 193,000 (2nd most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 6.4% (16th highest)

Between 2006 and the first quarter of 2011, homes in the state of Florida lost roughly half of their value. Florida has among the fewest children relative to the size of its population. Nevertheless, more than 193,000 of those under the age of 18 lost their homes when the mortgages their families took out during the recession were foreclosed. As of February, 2011, an additional 397,000 children, or 12.8% of the state’s under-18 population, were in homes that were either delinquent on mortgage payments or were in the process of being foreclosed upon.

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4. California
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 6.2%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 9% (4th highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 575,000 (the most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 8.5% (6th highest)

California was among the states hit the hardest by the recession. For 2010, the state’s unemployment rate was third highest in the country, at 12.4%. From the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2011, home prices fell by more than 46% in the state, or the fourth-largest amount in the country. Not only have more than half a million young Californians, or 6.2% of the state’s children, already lost their homes, but the state has the fourth-highest rate of children affected by houses in delinquency, houses in the foreclosure process and houses that have been fully foreclosed combined.

3. Michigan
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 6.3%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 13% (2nd highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 147,000 (3rd most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 7.5% (9th highest)

Michigan homes lost 42% of their value between the beginning of 2006 and the beginning of 2011. As a result, by February first of last year, roughly 6.3% of the state’s children had lost their homes as the result of foreclosures, the third-highest percentage in the country. At that time, an additional 6.4% were living in homes that were in the process of being foreclosed or whose mortgage payments were delinquent 60 days or more. The situation for children in these states is much more dire than those that have lost their homes in wealthier regions like Virginia or Rhode Island. More than 21% of all families with children in the state are living below the poverty line.

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2. Arizona
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 7.7%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 11% (3rd highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 125,000 (5th most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 12.8% (the highest)

Home prices in Arizona decreased by 54% from the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2011 — the second-largest drop in the country. Arizona also has one of the highest rates of mortgaged homes that have been foreclosed. Unfortunately, children have been affected greatly by this scenario. When only considering those children who have already lost their homes to foreclosures, the state has the second-highest rate in the country — a share affecting 125,000 children. When taking into account also homes in the foreclosure process and homes in delinquency, the state has third-largest percentage of children affected.

1. Nevada
> Children affected by completed foreclosures: 9.5%
> Foreclosed homes with loans taken out 2004 to 2008: 14% (the highest)
> Children affected by foreclosures: 63,000 (10th most)
> Children in delinquent or foreclosure homes: 10.7% (2nd highest)

Nevada’s homes lost nearly 60% of their value during the recession, by far the biggest decline among the states. During the precrash housing boom, more than 540,000 mortgages were taken out in the state. As of February of last year, approximately 75,000 mortgages, a nation-high 14%, had been foreclosed. An additional 75,000 were either in foreclosure or late on payments. More than 9.5% of all the state’s children lost their homes in these foreclosures alone. An additional 10% are at risk of losing their homes because they are either in foreclosure or delinquency. That’s one in five Nevada children whose life has likely disrupted because of the housing bust.

Michael B. Sauter and Charles B. Stockdale