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Arkansas ranks 45th for child well-being in national report, despite modest gains
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas ranks 45th in the nation for overall child well-being, according to the 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The annual report evaluates how children are doing across all 50 states in four areas: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.
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Though Arkansas has made some gains since the COVID-19 pandemic, the state continues to fall behind on most indicators compared to national averages.
One area of progress is child poverty. The number of Arkansas children living in poverty has dropped by 7,000 since 2019. Still, 21% of the state's children remain in poverty, which is higher than the national rate of 16%.
'This report shows that while there has been some improvement, too many of our children are still being left behind,' said Keesa Smith-Brantley, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. 'We can't be satisfied with small gains when the overall trends remain troubling.'
Racial disparities remain a serious issue. Officials said Black children in Arkansas face a poverty rate of 43%. Children of two or more races have a poverty rate of 21%, while 19% of Hispanic or Latino children live in poverty. Non-Hispanic White children have the lowest poverty rate at 15%.
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In addition to being ranked 44th for child poverty, Arkansas is in the bottom 10 states on the following indicators:
Teens ages 16-19 not attending school and not working
8th graders below proficient on math level
Low-birthweight babies
Child and teen deaths
Teens ages 10-17 who are overweight or obese
Children in single-parent families
Children living in high-poverty areas
Teen birth rate
'If you look at the data, teens are where we're falling further behind,' Smith-Brantley said. 'We're seeing more teens out of school and unemployed, and more who are overweight or obese. These are outcomes tied directly to the decisions our leaders are or aren't making.'
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