Childhood Poverty
Childhood poverty is concentrated in some counties
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Overview
Vermont has been declared one of the best states for raising children, yet the number of children living in poverty exceeds the national average in six of the state’s 14 counties. These areas of concentrated poverty have remained relatively unchanged for one and, in some cases, two decades.
- Vermont ranks fifth lowest in the nation for childhood poverty. Still, a full 12% of the state’s children live at or below the poverty line. In Bennington, Caledonia, Essex, Orleans, Rutland, and Windham counties, childhood poverty rates exceed the national average.
- Twenty-eight percent of Vermont’s children live with a single parent—these families are statistically more likely to be low-income, especially when headed by women. Compounding the problem, one-third of child support payments due are never collected.
- Kids Count, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children, ranked Vermont sixth in the country for childhood well-being in 2006.
Read more about childhood poverty in Understanding Vermont or get a copy of the entire publication.
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