Methodology

To determine the states where the most children live in poverty, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed five-year estimates of child poverty rates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.

States were ranked based on the share of children living in poverty. To break ties, we used the number of children living in poverty.

Additional information on median income for families with children and the share of households with children receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are also five-year estimates from the 2020 ACS. Because the Census Bureau didn’t release one-year estimates for 2020 due to data collection issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, all ACS data are five-year estimates.