Child Poverty

In 2020 — before the American Rescue Plan tax cuts for families with children — about 1 in 6 children were impoverished in the U.S. In many Southern counties, poverty affected more than 1 in 3 children.

Child poverty rate by county

2020

Source: U.S. Census Bureau SAIPE. 

Scientists argue that poverty may be the single greatest threat to children’s healthy brain development.¹ Poverty in childhood, and food and housing insecurity which often comes along with it, create a prolonged activation of the stress response system that disrupts the development of children’s brains. This chronic, toxic stress can lead to lifelong learning difficulties and behavioral health challenges.^2,3,4,5 In 2020, roughly 1 in 4 children in Mississippi and Louisiana lived in poverty. In New Mexico, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Washington D.C., more than 1 in 5 children lived in poverty. Child poverty was highest in completely or mostly rural counties at 19%.

Several studies have concluded that when low-income parents receive increased wages or benefits, their spending on clothing and books for their children increases and their children’s mental health and brain development improves.^6,7,8 Similarly, the vast majority of low-income parents who received Child Tax Credit payments in 2021 spent the funds on food, clothing, rent, and utilities (Children who received Child Tax Credit benefits).⁹

1. “Poverty threatens health of US children”. American Academy of Pediatrics. May, 2013. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130504163257.htm

2. “Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain”. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/wp3/

3. “Poverty, Stress, and Brain Development: New Directions for Prevention and Intervention”. Blair, Raver. Academic Pediatrics. April, 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5765853/

4. “The Effects of Poverty on Childhood Brain Development”. Luby, Belden, Botteron, et al. JAMA Pediatrics. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/1761544

5. “State of the Art Review: Poverty and the Developing Brain”. Johnson, Riis, and Noble. Pediatrics. April, 2016. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/137/4/e20153075/81490/State-of-the-Art-Review-Poverty-and-the-Developing?redirectedFrom=fulltext

6. “Six reasons why children benefit from a minimum wage increase”. Tompkins. First Focus on Children. July, 2016. https://firstfocus.org/blog/six-reasons-why-children-benefit-from-a-minimum-wage-increase

7. “Socioeconomic Disparities in Parental Spending after Universal Cash Transfers: The CAse of the Alaska Dividend”. Amorim. Social Forces. October, 2021. https://academic.oup.com/sf/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sf/soab119/6408793

8. “Poverty-alleviation program participation and salivary cortisol in very low-income children”. Fernald, Gunnar. Social Science & Medicine. June, 2009. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953609002019

9. “9 in 10 Families With Low Incomes Are Using Child Tax Credits to Pay for Necessities, Education”. Zippel. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. October, 2021. https://www.cbpp.org/blog/9-in-10-families-with-low-incomes-are-using-child-tax-credits-to-pay-for-necessities-education