Rhode Island ranks 26th among the 50 states for child well-being, according to the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a drop from 20th the year before.
The state’s overall rank, based on 2024 data, fell as it slid in two of the report’s four domains. The annual report tracks 16 indicators across economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors. For the first time, the report included comprehensive scores ranging from 0 to 1,000 rather than relying solely on rankings. Rhode Island scored 583, above the national score of 547. epa
The new scoring system is designed to show whether state policies and public investments are improving children’s lives over time, not just how states stack up against one another. The scores are anchored to a 2019 baseline, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nwf
Rhode Island’s slide was driven mainly by declines in economic well-being and family and community factors. The state recorded the steepest drop in its economic well-being score of any state, falling 161 points between 2019 and 2024, even as 29 states saw improvement in that area. In the rankings, Rhode Island fell from 26th to 36th in economic well-being and from 14th to 26th in family and community context.
The state held steady in education and improved in health, where its score rose from 682 to 737. Its four domain rankings now stand at 36th in economic well-being, 25th in education, 11th in health, and 26th in family and community context.
“Rhode Island needs to continue tackling the housing crisis. Rhode Island’s housing is considered one of the least affordable in the country,” said Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Executive Director Paige Parks. She pointed to a proposed state Child Tax Credit and improvements to the Rhode Island Works program as strategies to help families, noting that the federal Child Tax Credit drove the state’s only economic well-being gain over the five-year period, between 2021 and 2022.
Nationally, the picture was mixed. The overall U.S. score fell from 553 to 547, with child well-being declining in 29 states and improving in 15. State scores ranged widely, from 271 in Mississippi to 838 in New Hampshire. South Carolina posted the largest improvement of any state, rising 38 points.
“Behind every number in this report is a child who is either hungry or fed, housed or homeless, progressing academically or falling behind. No state is consistently getting this right,” said Lisa M. Lawson, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, which is urging residents to contact lawmakers in the final week of the legislative session, said the report is meant to help officials direct investment toward children and families. The full Data Book is available at aecf.org/databook.
