2016 Reports

Basic Facts about Low-Income Children: Children under 6 Years, 2014

Jiang, Yang; Ekono, Mercedes M.; Skinner, Curtis

Children under 18 years represent 23 percent of the population, but they comprise 32 percent of all people in poverty. Many more children live in families with incomes just above the poverty threshold. Among all children, 44 percent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (21 percent) live in poor families. Young children under age 6 years appear to be particularly vulnerable, with 47 percent living in low-income and 24 percent living in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children’s experience of economic insecurity. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socio-economic, and geographic characteristics of young children and their parents. It highlights important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children in this age group from their less disadvantaged counterparts.