Almost one in five children across the South lives in poverty, the highest rate of all regions: Child poverty rates by region, 2023

Region Child Poverty Rate
West 14.1%
Midwest 14.8%
Northeast 15.3%
South 18.0%
Economic Policy Institute

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. 2023b. “S1703: Selected Characteristics of People at Specified Levels of Poverty in the Past 12 Months.” Public data series accessed via the Census data tool. Accessed March 2025. 

View the underlying data on epi.org.