The best places in America for kids to grow up and the biggest gains are coming in red states
Four red states are leading the pack when it comes to improving the lives of children since the COVID pandemic, according to a new report.South Carolina saw the biggest overall improvement in child well-being between 2019 and 2024, according to the 2026 “Kids Count” study by the Annie E.Casey Foundation.The other major gainers were Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky and New Mexico.The Palmetto State experienced a 38-point jump in its overall childhood well-being score — which includes 16 factors like premature deaths, low birth weight, educational proficiency and poverty rates.South Carolina—which voted 58 to 40% in favor of President Trump in 2024— was one of only three states that did not see a decline in its education ranking since 2019, the data shows.Educational attainment remained stable in South Carolina, while improving in only two states: deeply red Louisiana and Mississippi — both of which have been lauded for making bigger gains in reading and math scored than their far richer cousins in the Northeast.Despite the significant gains, overall outcomes for children are still highest in wealthy states.
The Deep South has some of the lowest scores.New York comes in at no.30, California is no.
33 out out of 50 states, according to the Annie E.Casey Foundation’s list.
New York saw a decline in its childhood well-being score, while California was flat between 2019 and 2024.The report shows that many of the most improved states for childhood well-being are in the Deep South, which have also seen a greater educational and economic recovery compared to their northern counterparts.“While a majority of states with the lowest overall scores are in the South, trends from 2019 to 2024 show that Southern states achieved the greatest gains of any region in the country,” according to the report.Source: Annie E.Casey Foundation Kids Count DatabookAmong the 15 states that saw an improvement in child well-being between 2019 and 2024, eight of them were in ...