States with the Most Underprivileged Children (2026)

Every child deserves the chance to grow up healthy, safe and supported, with access to nutritious food, a quality education, reliable health care and a stable home. These essentials help lay the foundation for a successful future, yet many children across the U.S. continue to face serious hardships.

In the U.S.,Today, 1 in 7 children in the U.S. lives in poverty, and according to the Children's Defense Fund, a child is abused or neglected every 54 seconds. Beyond the immediate harm, just one year's worth of confirmed child maltreatment cases is estimated to result in $592 billion in lifetime economic costs.

While these challenges exist nationwide, some states provide stronger support for vulnerable children than others. WalletHub analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 indicators of child well-being, including poverty, food insecurity and child maltreatment, to identify where children face the greatest disadvantages.

Main Findings

States with the Most Underprivileged Children

Notes: *No. 1 = Most Underprivileged

With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the worst conditions for that metric category.

In-Depth Look at the States With the Most Underprivileged Children

Mississippi

Mississippi has the most underprivileged children, with the highest share of children whose parents’ income is below the poverty level, at 26%. It also has the highest share of low-income households where no adult works and the third-highest share of households where parents lack secure employment.

When it comes to family structure, there are a lot of children in Mississippi who don’t live with their parents. The state has the second-highest percentage of children living with grandparents with no parents present.

Finally, children’s health is a major concern in Mississippi. It has the highest infant mortality rate and third-highest child death rate in the country, along with the fourth-highest food insecurity rate for children. The state also has the ninth-lowest public high school four-year graduation rate, reflecting broader challenges for children's long-term well-being.

West Virginia

West Virginia is the state with the second-most underprivileged children, in part because it has the highest share of children in low-income households where no adults work and the sixth-highest share of children whose parents lack secure employment. This has resulted in nearly 22% of children in the state living in households whose incomes are below the poverty line.

On top of that, West Virginia also has a high share of children who don’t live with their parents, with the highest percentage in the country of children in foster care and the highest percentage living only with their grandparents. Of course, both foster parents and grandparents can be loving, responsible caregivers, but the children still suffer difficult circumstances to end up living with them in the first place.

Children in the Mountain State have several other big problems that need to be addressed. West Virginia has the fourth-highest share of maltreated children in the nation, along with the highest share of 9th-12th-graders who felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two consecutive weeks during the past year. This depression may also explain why West Virginia has the fourth-highest share of kids ages 16 to 19 who are neither enrolled in school nor employed.

Louisiana

Louisiana has the third-most underprivileged children in the country with more than 25% of children living below the poverty line, the second-highest share nationwide. It also has the highest share of low-income households without a working adult and the third-highest share of households where parents lack secure employment.

Another challenge facing Louisiana is the high percentage of children living apart from their parents. The state has the sixth-highest percentage of children living with grandparents with no parents present.

Louisiana struggles across several measures of children's well-being. It has the nation's fourth-highest infant mortality rate, the fourth-highest child death rate, and the second-highest food insecurity rate for children. The state also has the eighth-lowest school system quality.

The methodology can be found on the full version of the article on WalletHub.