America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2020
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 population1 | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in the United States | 73.3 million (2018) | 73.0 million (2019) |  |
| Children as a percentage of the population1 | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in the United States | 22.4% (2018) | 22.3% (2019) | |
| Racial and ethnic composition1 | |||
| Children ages 0–17 by race and Hispanic origin2 | |||
| White, non-Hispanic | 50.5% (2018) | 50.2% (2019) | |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 13.7% (2018) | 13.7% (2019) | NS |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 0.8% (2018) | 0.8% (2019) | NS |
| Asian, non-Hispanic | 5.0% (2018) | 5.0% (2019) | NS |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 0.2% (2018) | 0.2% (2019) | NS |
| Two or more races, non-Hispanic | 4.3% (2018) | 4.4% (2019) |  |
| Hispanic | 25.4% (2018) | 25.6% (2019) | |
 Family and Social Environment |
|||
| Family structure and children's living arrangements | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living with two married parents | 65% (2018) | 66% (2019) | |
| Births to unmarried women | |||
| Births to unmarried women ages 15–44 | 41.0 per 1,000 (2017) | 41.0 per 1,000 (2018) | |
| Births that are to unmarried women among all births | 39.8% (2017) | 39.6% (2018) | |
| Child care | |||
| Children ages 3–5, not yet enrolled in kindergarten with employed mothers, whose primary child care arrangement was nonparental care on a regular basis | 88% (2012) | 85% (2016) | NS |
| Children ages 3–5, not yet enrolled in kindergarten with employed mothers, who were in center-based care arrangements | 67% (2012) | 70% (2016) | NS |
| Children of at least one foreign-born parent | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living with at least one foreign-born parent | 26% (2018) | 26% (2019) | NS |
| Language spoken at home and difficulty speaking English | |||
| Children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home | 23% (2017) | 23% (2018) | NS |
| Children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home and who have difficulty speaking English | 4% (2017) | 4% (2018) | NS |
| Adolescent births | |||
| Births to females ages 15–17 | 8 per 1,000 (2017) | 7 per 1,000 (2018) | |
| Child maltreatment1 | |||
| Substantiated reports of maltreatment of children ages 0–17 | 9.1 per 1,000 (2017) | 9.2 per 1,000 (2018) | |
| Economic Circumstances |
|||
| Child poverty and family income | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in poverty | 17% (2017) | 16% (2018) | |
| Children living in families with medium income | 29% (2017) | 30% (2018) | NS |
| Secure parental employment | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living with at least one parent employed year round, full time | 77.9% (2017) | 79.3% (2018) | |
| Food insecurity | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in households classified by USDA as "food insecure" | 17% (2017) | 15% (2018) | |
| Health Care |
|||
| Health insurance coverage | |||
| Children ages 0–17 who were uninsured at time of interview | 5% (2017) | 5% (2018) | NS |
| Usual source of health care | |||
| Children ages 0–17 with no usual source of health care | 4% (2017) | 5% (2018) | NS |
| Immunization | |||
| Children ages 19–35 months with the 4:3:1:33:3:1:4 combined series | 71% (2016) | 70% (2017) | NS |
| Oral health | |||
| Children ages 5–17 with a dental visit in the past year | 89% (2017) | 91% (2018) | NS |
| Physical Environment and Safety |
|||
| Outdoor air quality | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living in counties with pollutant concentrations above the levels of the current air quality standards | 62% (2017) | 64% (2018) | NS |
| Secondhand smoke | |||
| Children ages 4–11 with any detectable blood cotinine level, a measure for recent exposure to secondhand smoke | 37% (2013–2014) | 37% (2015–2016) | NS |
| Drinking water quality | |||
| Children served by community water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based drinking water standards | 8% (2017) | 7% (2018) | NS |
| Lead in the blood of children | |||
| Children ages 1–5 with blood lead greater than or equal to 5 µg/dL | 2.6% (2007–2010) | 0.9% (2013–2016) | |
| Housing problems | |||
| Households with children ages 0–17 reporting shelter cost burden, crowding, and/or physically inadequate housing | 39% (2015) | 39% (2017) | NS |
| Youth victims of serious violent crimes | |||
| Serious violent crime victimization of youth ages 12–17 | 8 per 1,000 (2017) | 6 per 1,000 (2018) | NS |
| Child injury and mortality | |||
| Injury deaths of children ages 1–4 | 10 per 100,000 (2017) | 10 per 100,000 (2018) | NS |
| Injury deaths of children ages 5–14 | 6 per 100,000 (2017) | 6 per 100,000 (2018) | NS |
| Adolescent injury and mortality | |||
| Injury deaths of adolescents ages 15–19 | 40 per 100,000 (2017) | 37 per 100,000 (2018) | |
| Behavior |
|||
| Regular cigarette smoking | |||
| Students who reported smoking daily in the past 30 days | |||
| 8th grade | 1% (2018) | 1% (2019) | NS |
| 10th grade | 2% (2018) | 1% (2019) | NS |
| 12th grade | 4% (2018) | 2% (2019) | |
| Alcohol use | |||
| Students who reported having five or more alcoholic beverages in a row in the past 2 weeks | |||
| 8th grade | 4% (2018) | 4% (2019) | NS |
| 10th grade | 9% (2018) | 9% (2019) | NS |
| 12th grade | 14% (2018) | 14% (2019) | NS |
| Illicit drug use | |||
| Students who reported using illicit drugs in the past 30 days | |||
| 8th grade | 7% (2018) | 9% (2019) | NS |
| 10th grade | 18% (2018) | 20% (2019) | NS |
| 12th grade | 24% (2018) | 24% (2019) | |
| Sexual activity | |||
| High school students who reported ever having had sexual intercourse | 40% (2017) | 38% (2019) | NS |
| Youth perpetrators of serious violent crimes | |||
| Youth offenders ages 12–17 involved in serious violent crimes | 9 per 1,000 (2017) | 8 per 1,000 (2018) | NS |
| Education |
|||
| Family reading to young children | |||
| Children ages 3–5 who were read to three or more times in the last week | 83% (2012) | 81% (2016) | NS |
| Mathematics and reading achievement | |||
| Average mathematics scale score of | |||
| 4th-graders (0–500 scale) | 240 (2017) | 241 (2019) | |
| 8th-graders (0–500 scale) | 283 (2017) | 282 (2019) | |
| 12th-graders (0–300 scale) | 153 (2013) | 152 (2015) | |
| Average reading scale score of | |||
| 4th-graders (0–500 scale) | 222 (2017) | 220 (2019) | |
| 8th-graders (0–500 scale) | 267 (2017) | 263 (2019) | |
| 12th-graders (0–500 scale) | 288 (2013) | 287 (2015) | NS |
| High school completion | |||
| Young adults ages 18–24 who have completed high school | 93% (2017) | 94% (2018) | NS |
| Youth neither enrolled in school4 nor working | |||
| Youth ages 16–19 who are neither enrolled in school nor working | 8% (2018) | 8% (2019) | NS |
| College enrollment | |||
| Recent high school completers enrolled in college the October immediately after completing high school | 67% (2017) | 69% (2018) | NS |
| Health |
|||
| Preterm birth and low birthweight | |||
| Infants less than 37 completed weeks of gestation at birth | 9.9% (2017) | 10.0% (2018) | |
| Infants weighing less than 5 lb. 8 oz. at birth | 8% (2017) | 8% (2018) | NS |
| Infant mortality | |||
| Deaths before first birthday | 5.8 per 1,000 (2017) | 5.7 per 1,000 (2018) | |
| 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 | 6% (2017) | 6% (2018) | NS |
| Adolescent depression | |||
| Youth ages 12–17 with past-year Major Depressive Episode | 13% (2017) | 14% (2018) | |
| Activity limitation | |||
| Children ages 5–17 with activity limitation resulting from one or more chronic health conditions | 11% (2017) | 10% (2018) | NS |
| Obesity | |||
| Children ages 6–17 who had obesity | 20% (2011–2014) | 20% (2015–2018) | NS |
| Asthma | |||
| Children ages 0–17 who currently have asthma | 8% (2017) | 8% (2018) | NS |
| NS – No statistically significant change –Statistically significant increase – Statistically significant decrease |
|||
| 1 Population estimates are not sample derived and are not subject to statistical testing. Change between years identifies differences in the proportionate size of these estimates as rounded. | |||
| 2 Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding. | |||
| 3 Coverage with the full Hib vaccine series increased in 2010, suggesting that children received a booster as supplies became adequate starting in July 2009. | |||
| 4 School refers to high school and college. | |||