Report shows more Arkansas, U.S. children living in poverty

Children living in poverty in Arkansas was 14.5% in the 2022-2024 period, up from 8.9% between 2019-2021, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation^[1] (AECF). The national average is 13%.

The report, “Measuring Access to Opportunity in the United States: A 10-Year Update^[2],” was posted Oct. 20 and provides a picture of the impact of public policies on programs designed to reduce child poverty.

The AECF report uses U.S. Census Bureau figures from the annual Supplemental Poverty Measure. The report finds that more than one in eight children nationwide live in poverty, with one in every seven children in Arkansas going without essential food needs.

“Without government intervention, this rate would be more than double (29.5%) statewide, highlighting the crucial role of public support in alleviating financial hardship for struggling families,” according to the report. “Among children living in poverty nationwide, 61%, or 5.9 million, lived with at least one employed parent in 2024.”

According to AECF, the Supplemental Poverty Measure is a more accurate gauge of household finances than the official poverty measure’s income threshold of $31,812 for a family of four in 2024. It accounts for essential expenses such as housing, medical and child care; adjusts for rising costs and geographic differences in the cost of living; and measures the effectiveness of vital resources like tax credits, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, food assistance and housing subsidies.

“Arkansas does not have a state-level earned income tax credit or child tax credit,” said Pete Gess, economic policy director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families^[3]. “Both of these tax credits have been shown to lift children out of poverty in other states and would do the same here.”

Following are some of the report conclusions.
• In 2021, 5% of children in the U.S. lived in poverty, an historic low created by enhanced social supports and the one-time expanded Child Tax Credit to support families during the pandemic.

• Combined government policies and programs lifted more than 15 million children out of poverty in 2021. Between 2021 and 2024, after those enhanced resources expired, the rate of children in poverty rose to pre-pandemic levels of 13% under the Supplemental Poverty Measure. That percentage would be 25% without government interventions to alleviate financial hardship, demonstrating the crucial role of public programs and tax policies in the well-being of children in this country.

• While poverty rose among all children from 2021 to 2024, children of color experienced the steepest increases. Poverty among Black children rose from 8% to 23%, and among Latino children from 8% to 21%.

• Geographically, the South has the highest child poverty rates and saw the greatest increase, up 5% between 2019–21 and 2022–24.

• Researchers estimate child poverty costs the United States up to $1 trillion annually in lost productivity, lower lifetime earnings and higher spending on health care, crime and public programs.

“Poverty poses a serious threat to children’s development and long-term well-being, with far-reaching consequences for our economy,” said Leslie Boissiere, AECF vice president of external affairs. “The data unequivocally show that public programs directly help our nation’s children. By investing in children’s well-being — through both public policy and employment practices that provide family-sustaining wages — we can enable more children to thrive and contribute as they become adults.”

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