Child poverty in the United States swung from historic lows to troubling highs in just three years. In 2021, with federal pandemic relief and an expanded child tax credit in place, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) showed child poverty at 5% — the lowest rate on record. By 2024, that rate had nearly tripled to 13%, returning to pre-pandemic levels. Without public support, it would have been 25% (see Figure 1).
A decade ago, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s first “Measuring Access to Opportunity” snapshot revealed that the percentage of children whose families cannot make ends meet — most of whom had at least one parent working full time — would have nearly doubled without government interventions to alleviate financial hardship at the time. Today, that reality remains. In 2024, 61% of children in poverty lived in families with at least one working parent.
Released again in partnership with Casey’s KIDS COUNT® Network, this new snapshot delivers the same message with fresh urgency: Public policies to reduce child poverty work, and it is vital that reliable government data remain available to measure the effects of those policies. These programs make a difference in every state — from Maine to Washington — though the effect looks different depending on local economies and policy choices.
WHY MEASURING CHILD POVERTY MATTERS The swing in child poverty rates shows why tracking poverty is so important. These numbers are not abstract. For children, the consequences are immediate and profound: Hunger, unstable housing, inadequate health care, unsafe neighborhoods and other pressures undermine healthy development, school success and long-term well-being. These experiences can increase the risk of chronic illness, limit employment prospects and create lasting barriers to opportunity. But poverty doesn’t just harm individual children. Researchers estimate child poverty costs the United States up to $1 trillion annually in lost productivity, lower lifetime earnings and higher spending on health care, crime and public programs. Schools in high-poverty areas face greater resource constraints and lower academic achievement than wealthier districts. Hospitals in low-income communities absorb more uncompensated care when families lack insurance. And neighborhoods with concentrated poverty often have more crime, weaker civic infrastructure and fewer community resources.