America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011

America's Children at a Glance

To open each section click on the section name next to the arrow. To close each section click the section name again.

	Previous Value (Year)	Most Recent Value (Year)	Change Between Years
Demographic Background
Child population*
Children ages 0–17 in the United States	74.5 million (2009)	74.2 million (2010)
Children as a percentage of the population*
Children ages 0–17 in the United States	24.3% (2009)	24.0%(2010)
Racial and ethnic composition*
Children ages 0–17 by race and ethnic group
White	75.6% (2009)	// (2010)	//
White, non-Hispanic	55.3% (2009)	53.5% (2010)
Black	15.1% (2009)	14.0% (2010)
Asian	4.4% (2009)	4.3% (2010)
All other races	4.9% (2009)	5.2% (2010)
Hispanic (of any race)	22.5% (2009)	23.1% (2010)
Family and Social Environment
Family structure and children's living arrangements
Children ages 0–17 living with two married parents	67% (2009)	66% (2010)
Births to unmarried women
Births to unmarried women ages 15–44	53 per 1,000 (2008)	51 per 1,000 (2009)
Births that are to unmarried women among all births	40.6% (2008)	41.0% (2009)
Child care
Children ages 0–4, with employed mothers, whose primary child care arrangement is with a relative	48% (2005)	48% (2010)	NS
Children ages 3–6, not yet in kindergarten, who were in center-based care arrangements	57% (2005)	55% (2007)	NS
Children of at least one foreign-born parent
Children ages 0–17 living with at least one foreign-born parent	22% (2008)	23% (2010)
Language spoken at home and difficulty speaking English
Children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home	20.5% (2008)	21.1% (2009)
Children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home and who have difficulty speaking English	5.1% (2008)	4.9% (2009)
Adolescent births
Births to females ages 15–17	21.7 per 1,000 (2008)	20.1 per 1,000 (2009)
Child maltreatment**
Substantiated reports of maltreatment of children ages 0–17	10.3 per 1,000 (2008)	10.1 per 1,000 (2009)
Economic Circumstances
Child poverty and family income
Related children ages 0–17 in poverty	19% (2008)	20% (2009)
Secure parental employment
Children ages 0–17 living with at least one parent employed year round, full time	75% (2008)	72% (2009)
Food security
Children ages 0–17 in households classified by USDA as "food insecure"	22% (2008)	23% (2009)	NS
Health Care
Health insurance coverage
Children ages 0–17 covered by health insurance at some time during the year	90% (2008)	90% (2009)	NS
Usual source of health care
Children ages 0–17 with no usual source of health care	6% (2008)	6% (2009)	NS
Immunization
Children ages 19–35 months with the 4:3:1:3:3:1 combined series of vaccinations	76% (2008)	70% (2009)
Oral health
Children ages 5–17 with a dental visit in the past year	84% (2008)	84% (2009)	NS
Physical Environment and Safety
Outdoor air quality
Children ages 0–17 living in counties in which levels of one or more air pollutants were above allowable levels	69% (2008)	59% (2009)
Environmental tobacco smoke
Children ages 4–11 with any detectable blood cotinine level	51% (2005–06)	53% (2007–08)	NS
Drinking water quality
Children served by community water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based drinking water standards	7% (2008)	7% (2009)	NS
Lead in the blood of children
Children ages 1–5 with blood lead greater than or equal to 10 µg/dL	2% (1999–2002)	** (2005–2008)	NS
Housing problems
Households with children ages 0–17 reporting shelter cost burden, crowding, and/or physically inadequate housing	43% (2007)	45% (2009)
Youth victims of serious violent crimes
Serious violent crime victimization of youth ages 12–17	12 per 1,000 (2008)	10 per 1,000 (2009)	NS
Child injury and mortality
Injury deaths of children ages 1–4	12 per 100,000 (2008)	11 per 100,000 (2009)	NS
Injury deaths of children ages 5–14	6.1 per 100,000 (2008)	5.7 per 100,000 (2009)
Adolescent injury and mortality
Injury deaths of adolescents ages 15–19	44 per 100,000 (2008)	39 per 100,000 (2009)
Behavior
Regular cigarette smoking
Students who reported smoking daily in the past 30 days
8th grade	3% (2009)	3% (2010)	NS
10th grade	6% (2009)	7% (2010)	NS
12th grade	11% (2009)	11% (2010)	NS
Alcohol use
Students who reported having five or more alcoholic beverages in a row in the past 2 weeks
8th grade	8% (2009)	7% (2010)	NS
10th grade	18% (2009)	16% (2010)	NS
12th grade	25% (2009)	23% (2010)
Illicit drug use
Students who reported using illicit drugs in the past 30 days
8th grade	8% (2009)	10% (2010)
10th grade	18% (2009)	19% (2010)	NS
12th grade	23% (2009)	24% (2010)	NS
Sexual activity
High school students who reported ever having had sexual intercourse	48% (2007)	46% (2009)	NS
Youth perpetrators of serious violent crimes
Youth offenders ages 12–17 involved in serious violent crimes	14 per 1,000 (2008)	11 per 1,000 (2009)	NS
Education
Family reading to young children
Children ages 3–5 who were read to every day in the last week by a family member	60% (2005)	55% (2007)
Mathematics and reading achievement
Average mathematics scale score of
4th-graders (0–500 scale)	240 (2007)	240 (2009)	NS
8th-graders (0–500 scale)	281 (2007)	283 (2009)
12th-graders (0–300 scale)	150 (2005)	153 (2009)
Average reading scale score of
4th-graders (0–500 scale)	221 (2007)	221 (2009)	NS
8th-graders (0–500 scale)	263 (2007)	264 (2009)
12th-graders (0–500 scale)	286 (2005)	288 (2009)
High school academic coursetaking
High school graduates who completed advanced coursework in
Mathematics	45% (2000)	49% (2005)
Science	63% (2000)	63% (2005)	NS
English	34% (2000)	31% (2005)	NS
Foreign language	30% (2000)	33% (2005)
High school completion
Young adults ages 18–24 who have completed high school	90% (2008)	90% (2009)	NS
Youth neither enrolled in school*** nor working
Youth ages 16–19 who are neither enrolled in school nor working	9% (2009)	9% (2010)	NS
College enrollment
Recent high school completers enrolled in college the October immediately after completing high school	69% (2008)	70% (2009)	NS
Health
Preterm birth and low birthweight
Infants less than 37 weeks of gestation at birth	12.3% (2008)	12.2% (2009)
Infants weighing less than 5 lb. 8 oz. at birth	8.2% (2008)	8.2% (2009)	NS
Infant mortality
Deaths before first birthday	6.6 per 1,000 (2008)	6.4 per 1,000 (2009)
Emotional and behavioral difficulties
Children ages 4–17 reported by a parent to have serious difficulties with emotions, concentration, behavior, or getting along with other people	5% (2008)	5% (2009)	NS
Adolescent depression
Youth ages 12–17 with past year Major Depressive Episode	8% (2008)	8% (2009)	NS
Activity limitation
Children ages 5–17 with activity limitation resulting from one or more chronic health conditions	9% (2008)	9% (2009)	NS
Diet quality
Average diet scores for children ages 2–17	56% (2003–2004)	59% (2007–2008)	NS
Obesity
Children ages 6–17 who are obese	17% (2005–2006)	19% (2007–2008)	NS
Asthma
Children ages 0–17 who currently have asthma	9% (2008)	10% (2009)	NS
— Not available                                    N/A – Not applicable                                    NS – No statistically significant change –Statistically significant increase       – Statistically significant decrease
// = Not available at publication time
* Population estimates and decennial census counts are not sample derived and thus not subject to statistical testing. Change between years identifies differences in the proportionate size of these estimates as rounded.
** Percentage is not shown because sample is too small to provide a statistically reliable estimate.
*** School refers to both high school and college.