COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio is among the states with the highest rates of young children affected by poverty, according to a recent study.
The Birth Injury Lawyers Group, a nationwide network of attorneys, calculated the average number of children, aged 5 or younger, living in poverty from 2019 to 2023 in each U.S. state. The study, released in late August, sourced its data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The analysis found that Ohio was the ninth worst state for child poverty, with 220 out of every 1,000 children living in poverty. That number is about 30.95% above the national average of 168 out of every 1,000 children living in poverty.
Over the five-year period, the Buckeye State was home to 586,212 children aged between 0 to 5, of whom 128,765 were in poverty, according to the study. The peak number of children in poverty was recorded in 2021, at 135,658, while the lowest figure was in 2023, at 119,373.
“This data uncovers a painful truth: in states like Ohio, kids are beginning life with the odds stacked against them,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “In order to break the cycle, state leaders and community programs in Ohio must prioritize early support and meet families where they are. Every child deserves a fair shot, no matter where they’re born.”
The state that had the highest rate of children in poverty was Mississippi, at 284 per 1,000 children. Mississippi was followed by Louisiana (No. 2), New Mexico (No. 3), Arkansas (No. 4), Florida (No. 5), Alabama (No. 6), West Virginia (No. 7), Kentucky (No. 8) and Oklahoma (No. 10).
The state where the fewest children were in poverty was New Hampshire, with a rate of 85 per 1,000 children. The states that ranked next, respectively, were Utah, Minnesota, Vermont, Hawaii, Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington, North Dakota and Nebraska.
