The cost of living is not the only thing we have to consider when raising kids today we also have to consider the areas where they are most at-risk. To determine where young Americans are not faring as well as others in their age group, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 14 key indicators of youth risk. The dataset ranges from share of disconnected youth to labor force participation rate among youth to youth poverty rate.
| States with the Most At-Risk Youth | States with the Least At-Risk Youth | |||
| 1 | District of Columbia | 42 | Kansas | |
| 2 | Louisiana | 43 | Iowa | |
| 3 | Mississippi | 44 | North Dakota | |
| 4 | Nevada | 45 | Utah | |
| 5 | West Virginia | 46 | Massachusetts | |
| 6 | Arkansas | 47 | Minnesota | |
| 7 | Delaware | 48 | Connecticut | |
| 8 | Oregon | 49 | Maryland | |
| 9 | Alabama | 50 | New Hampshire | |
| 10 | New Mexico | 51 | New Jersey | |
Key Stats
- Alaska, West Virginia and Louisiana have the highest share of disconnected youth, 20 percent, which is 2.9 times higher than in Iowa, the lowest at 7 percent.
- Nevada has the highest share of youth without a high school diploma, 18.9 percent, which is 2.5 times higher than in Hawaii, the lowest at 7.7 percent.
- Oklahoma and Missouri have the highest share of overweight or obese youth, 51.4 percent, which is 1.5 higher than in the District of Columbia, the lowest at 33.5 percent.
- Vermont has the highest share of youth using drugs in the past month, 40.00 percent, which is 2.7 times higher than in Utah, the lowest at 15.04 percent.
- Nevada has the highest share of homeless youth, 0.86 percent, which is 43 times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest at 0.02 percent.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-most-at-risk-youth/37280/
