The new 2025 “Kids Count Data Book,” which tracks state trends in child well-being, has just been published, and once again Connecticut and other Democratic New England states continue to outperform their Red State peers in the South and Southwest.
Compiled by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count captures individual states’ performance in the four domains that children need the most: economic well-being, education, health and family and community. States are given an overall child well-being score and individual scores in those four metrics.
New England states captured five of the Top 8 overall rankings in America, with Connecticut ranking 8th nationally. Nationally, Connecticut ranks 3rd in Education, 4th in Health, 22nd in Family and Community and 26th in Economic Well-Being.
Of the 12 lowest-ranking states, 11 of them are Republican controlled states – most all of them in the South.
The report found that where a child lives continues to “matter profoundly” for their health and quality of life while geographic disparities are shaped by differences in state and local policies among other factors.
“The states with the greatest challenges are concentrated in the South and Southwest — including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia,” the report stated. “In contrast, the Northeast and Midwest are home to many of the highest-performing states, such as Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota and Vermont.”
The Kids Count report noted that, nationally, there have been increases in Family and Community scores. The share of American children living in high-poverty neighborhoods fell by 43% over the past decade, the teen birth rate has dropped 80% since 1990, and the number of children living in a household headed by a person with a high school diploma has increased.
Education continues to be a problem nationally, however, especially during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. Most 4th-graders in America are not reading at proficiency level, and most 8th-graders are not proficient in math. More than half of 3- and 4-year olds in America were not enrolled in preschool from 2019-2023.
Connecticut’s worst ranking score – 26th in Economic Well-Being, which is middle of the pack for American states – may be a reflection of its constant, ongoing struggle to build more affordable housing.
“Adequate economic resources enable kids to get life’s essentials — such as quality housing, food, health care, schools and neighborhoods — and grow into strong teens and adults,” the report stated. “When parents do not have affordable housing, stable employment or adequate wages, their ability to meet basic family needs and access resources to promote their kids’ well-being is limited.”
The issue of affordable housing has come to a head recently in Connecticut as Gov. Ned Lamont considers changes to House Bill 5002, which was voted on and passed by the state Senate and House of Representatives in the legislative session that concluded on June 4.
Senate President Martin Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said they were willing to negotiate on the bill with the governor, as long as any changes do not undercut the need to build more affordable housing – an issue that the Annie E. Casey Foundation rankings indicate that Connecticut needs to make more progress on.
“We understand the Governor’s desire to remove and alter certain sections of the bill,” Looney and Duff said. “However, the Senate Democrats have other ideas on adding provisions to the bill to strengthen the legislation. Senate leadership is prepared to collaborate over the next two weeks to see if a reasonable compromise can be reached which addresses the concerns of those who believe H.B. 5002 should contain more provisions to grow housing in Connecticut.”
