Youth Poverty in the United States

According to Fact Sheet #10 published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, June 1999, homeless children are by the most accounts among the fastest growing segments of the homeless population. Almost one quarter of homeless people in the United States are children, and they are their parents are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population, according to an article on a recent study of homeless children in shelters in Los Angeles County. Families with children constitute …

…significantly lower than the U.S. average in fifteen. The near poverty rate among young children ranges from less than 30% in Massachusetts and New Jersey to greater than 60% in Mississippi, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Eleven states including California, Florida, and Texas and the District of Columbia have near poverty rates that are significantly higher than the national average of 44.2, percent, whereas 12 states have rates that are significantly lower than the national rate.