Children’s Well‑Being Declines After COVID, Study Finds

A new study shows that kids across the U. S. are not doing as well now as they were before the pandemic. The report, released by a nonprofit that focuses on child and family health, looks at four big areas: money, school, health, and home life. The overall score for child well‑being went down from 553 in 2019 to 547 in 2024. Only a handful of states improved, and most stayed the same or fell. Five of the top seven states are in the Northeast. The biggest drops were in school and health. Reading and math grades fell sharply, with 47 states seeing lower scores. School performance dropped from 518 to 417. Health also slipped, going from 624 to 607. More children are dying and more families struggle with bills. Between 2019 and 2024, deaths among kids and teens went up by 8 %. The percentage of children living in families that spend too much on rent or utilities rose from 30 % to 31 %, affecting about 22. 4 million children. This is the first rise in that measure since 2010.

Not everything went downhill. Family and community life got better, climbing from 518 to 608. Money matters also improved a bit, rising from 551 to 557. The study notes that fewer kids live in poverty, more parents have jobs, adults are going to college longer, and high school graduation rates go up. Teen birth rates fell 24 % over the period and stayed steady at 13 per 1, 000 teens in both 2023 and 2024. Birth rates across the country keep dropping, even before the 2008 recession, while many households face higher living costs. In states that did poorly overall, South Carolina made the biggest jump, adding 38 points. New Mexico added 22 points. Mississippi stayed last overall even though its school scores improved. The report says that what states do with money and policies still shapes how kids fare.

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