MAP MONDAY: States with the Most Underprivileged Children

Not all states are created equal and some states are considerably more dangerous – for a number of reasons – for children, which is why there is a continued focus on the amount of underprivileged children in each state.

But where does the Peach state fall? In this week’s Map Monday, we take a look.

WalletHub, a personal-finance website released the study last week as part of its recognition of Child Support Awareness month. According to WalletHub, The U.S., in fact, has the seventh highest rate of child poverty — over 29 percent — among economically developed countries. And according to the Children’s Defense Fund, a child is abused or neglected every 47 seconds and the total costs of maltreatment per year reach $80.3 billion.

In examining the state of each state’s environment for children (ages 0 to 17), WalletHub compared socio-economic welfare, health, and education in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. WalletHub used a weighted scale for 26 different conditions, including households with below-poverty income and the number of children in foster care to child food-insecurity rate, share of maltreated children, and infant mortality rate.*

The top 5 states for their number of underprivileged children are:

Meanwhile, the states with the fewest underprivileged children include:

Georgia ranked 18th for the most underprivileged children by state.

Among the findings, Georgia ranked:
•    11th – % of Children in Households with Below-Poverty Income
•    13th – Child Food-Insecurity Rate
•    9th – % of Uninsured Children
•    9th – Infant Mortality Rate
•    8th – % of Children in Single-Parent Families

(1=Most; 25=Avg; 50=Worst)

See the map below. (Story continues below the map)