Report: North Carolina ranks in bottom 20 for child well-being

A national study released Monday shows that children in North Carolina are more likely to graduate high school on time compared to other states. When compared to other states overall, though, North Carolina is closer to the bottom.

The 2019 Kids Count Data Book studies and ranks the well-being of children in each state. Two of the book's 70 pages are focused on North Carolina, which was ranked 33 out of all 50 states for child well-being. The number stems as an average of four categories to measure the overall well being of a child.

According to the report, North Carolina ranks No. 22 in education, No. 28 in health, No. 31 in economic well-being and No. 36 in family and community.

Most of the state's numbers have improved or remained the same from previous years, the study states, also pointing out that the rate of North Carolina children who are not in school at ages 3 and 4 is growing.

According to a map in the study, six of the 10 top-ranked states are located in the Northeast. States in Appalachia, the South and Southwest, where families have the lowest levels of household income, populate the lower rankings.

The study also found that 47 percent of of the nation’s child population is now kids of color. At the local level, every state reported a higher proportion of non-white kids compared to three decades ago.

Overall, New Hampshire ranked No. 1 for child well-being, followed by Massachusetts, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, Utah, Connecticut, Maine and Virginia. Hawaii, Delaware and South Dakota were right in the middle.

The lowest ranking state was New Mexico, and just above it were Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Alabama, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. View the full report online.