New Mexico ranks No.1 for most underprivileged children in the country, new study says

Date:2025-08-07 22:11:43 Category:US Views:2 Comment:0

A new study ranks New Mexico as the number one state for underprivileged children because of low-income households, high rates of teens unenrolled in school and other factors.

The study, released by WalletHub on Wednesday, Aug. 6, considered several metrics to determine the state rankings, including categories in socio-economic welfare, health and education.

New Mexico topped the list in part because a quarter of children in the state are living in households whose incomes are below the poverty line, WalletHub noted. New Mexico also has the fourth-highest share of children living in single-parent families and the eighth-highest percentage living only with their grandparents.

Depression and high school enrollment among teens also contributed to the ranking.

Source: WalletHub

"Children in the Land of Enchantment have several other big problems that need to be addressed," the study said. "New Mexico has the tenth-highest share of maltreated children in the nation, along with the 13th-highest share of 9th-12th-graders who felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two consecutive weeks during the past year. This depression may also explain why New Mexico has the highest share of kids ages 16 to 19 who are neither enrolled in school nor employed."

Here's the full list:

Overall Rank*	State	Total Score	Socio-economic Welfare Rank	Health Rank	Education Rank
1	New Mexico	66.73	1	17	3
7	District of Columbia	57.95	2	24	18
5	Mississippi	61.72	3	2	22
3	Louisiana	62.88	4	6	9
6	West Virginia	60.19	5	8	13
10	Kentucky	55.15	6	5	42
23	New York	45.58	7	39	48
4	Oklahoma	62.01	8	3	7
2	Alaska	63.61	9	4	1
8	Arkansas	57.59	10	1	21
11	Alabama	54.74	11	7	23
9	Nevada	56.38	12	12	10
16	Oregon	50.05	13	32	16
17	Tennessee	49.89	14	18	29
28	California	42.33	15	46	41
19	Georgia	49.13	16	20	15
18	Ohio	49.83	17	13	17
29	Washington	42.09	18	45	28
22	Maine	47.36	19	14	32
13	South Carolina	52.89	20	9	8
38	Vermont	37.65	21	51	36
21	North Carolina	47.59	22	19	20
15	Montana	51.16	23	10	11
12	South Dakota	53.00	24	16	5
25	Missouri	44.41	25	25	25
14	Arizona	52.48	26	22	4
37	Hawaii	37.67	27	48	31
20	Wyoming	48.68	28	27	6
35	Pennsylvania	37.82	29	42	39
30	Florida	41.57	30	29	34
24	Michigan	45.43	31	21	14
32	Illinois	39.59	32	23	45
27	Texas	43.61	33	15	26
26	Indiana	44.15	34	11	33
43	Massachusetts	33.67	35	44	49
36	Rhode Island	37.75	36	36	35
33	Kansas	39.34	37	31	30
51	Connecticut	25.31	38	50	51
42	Delaware	33.87	39	34	44
40	Nebraska	34.64	40	35	37
46	Virginia	31.89	41	41	47
44	Wisconsin	32.49	42	37	46
50	New Jersey	25.73	43	49	50
34	Colorado	38.60	44	30	12
41	Iowa	34.53	45	26	38
45	Minnesota	32.36	46	43	27
39	North Dakota	35.31	47	33	19
31	Idaho	40.46	48	40	2
48	Maryland	29.90	49	38	43
49	New Hampshire	26.58	50	47	40
47	Utah	30.53	51	28	24

Natassia Paloma may be reached at [email protected], @NatassiaPaloma on Twitter; natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Study: New Mexico ranks No.1 for most underprivileged children in US

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