More than 40 million Americans live below the poverty line, and of those facing such financial hardship, children are disproportionately affected. Nearly 12.6 million children under age 18 live in households with poverty level income.
Not only are children at higher risk of poverty, they are also especially vulnerable to poverty’s harmful effects, both in the immediate and long-term. Childhood poverty can negatively impact brain development and has been linked with a greater likelihood of chronic illness, shorter life expectancy, and poor emotional and behavioral health. Those who spend some or all of their childhood in poverty are also less likely to succeed in school or be financially secure later in life.
Nationwide, an estimated 17.5% of children under age 18 live below the poverty line. And though the United States has one of the worst child poverty rates among wealthy, developed countries, in parts of the U.S., child poverty is considerably less common than it is nationwide.
Of the 100 counties or county equivalents in Illinois with comparable data, Woodford County has the lowest child poverty rate. According to five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey, 4.8% of the 18 and under population in the area live below the poverty line – compared to the statewide child poverty rate of 16.2%.
Not only is child poverty less common in Woodford County than it is across Illinois, but local families also tend to be relatively well off. The median income among households with children in the county stands at $95,593 – about $11,700 more than what the typical household with children across the state as a whole earns annually.
All data in this story is from the 2020 ACS. Counties or county equivalents were excluded if the child poverty rate was not available, if the number of children for whom poverty status was determined was lower than 500, or if the sampling error associated with a county’s data was deemed too high.
StatePlace with lowest child povertyLocal child poverty rate (%)Local median family income ($)State child poverty rate (%)State median family income ($)AlabamaShelby County7.8100,95022.764,790AlaskaPetersburg Borough7.482,26613.888,245ArizonaGreenlee County14.771,40820.069,758ArkansasSaline County11.084,82422.059,204CaliforniaSan Mateo County6.4168,99616.884,790ColoradoDouglas County2.4144,75811.591,425ConnecticutTolland County4.7118,14113.0100,115DelawareNew Castle County14.591,42317.279,268FloridaSt. Johns County8.2113,32118.765,053GeorgiaFayette County4.6112,89520.170,326HawaiiKauai County9.086,35811.791,696IdahoAda County9.487,10214.469,851IllinoisWoodford County4.895,59316.283,907IndianaLaGrange County5.080,14117.670,859IowaDallas County4.7130,87113.379,139KansasRooks County2.862,53013.974,882KentuckyOldham County5.7125,22722.265,096LouisianaLivingston Parish12.889,68626.361,722MaineYork County8.588,35414.076,852MarylandCalvert County4.3133,21511.6103,641MassachusettsNorfolk County5.4154,05112.2109,908MichiganLivingston County6.1111,74618.873,187MinnesotaCarver County2.5136,86011.695,628MississippiItawamba County8.862,58027.654,822MissouriPlatte County5.9105,47717.472,033MontanaJefferson County4.790,82115.271,986NebraskaHoward County3.374,56912.277,982NevadaDouglas County11.082,01017.667,738New HampshireRockingham County5.5123,3948.9100,798New JerseyHunterdon County3.0163,37113.3106,937New MexicoSandoval County15.675,37025.654,886New YorkPutnam County5.7128,30418.783,272North CarolinaClay County8.347,17620.068,688North DakotaDickey County3.393,75011.186,414OhioGeauga County5.2110,63819.172,130OklahomaCanadian County10.285,30120.762,535OregonClackamas County7.1103,71815.078,939PennsylvaniaBucks County6.7121,61616.781,257Rhode IslandBristol County4.5123,23715.683,161South CarolinaYork County12.289,60121.264,942South DakotaStanley County0.094,23416.176,789TennesseeWilliamson County4.4137,82920.865,852TexasRockwall County4.9116,64720.071,693UtahSummit County4.0121,3439.984,298VermontGrand Isle County7.191,96412.381,902VirginiaGoochland County2.4114,84213.193,828WashingtonPend Oreille County7.876,46812.690,447West VirginiaPleasants County6.667,50023.159,938WisconsinOzaukee County4.5117,94414.281,197WyomingLincoln County7.489,93812.380,825
