Schuyler Center’s annual State of New York’s Children Data Book provides a data snapshot of the wellbeing of New York’s children and families and the challenges New York families are facing. Having good data is imperative to identifying the right policy solutions.
On January 13, Schuyler Center’s policy team presented the latest data and policy recommendations around child and family wellbeing in New York State.
Key Data Points and Takeaways:
New York children, over 18%, experienced poverty in 2023
%
of New York children experienced food insecurity in 2023
%
of 2024 reports to CPS were deemed unfounded (93,061)
children received child care assistance in September 2025, a 25% increase from the year prior
- In 2023, approximately 731,672 New York children, over 18%, experienced poverty, compared to 16% nationally.
- New York State ranks 40th in the nation for child poverty.
- The 2021 pandemic expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit dramatically and quickly cut child poverty nearly in half nationally and in New York State. When that expansion and other pandemic supports ended, child poverty rates resurged and surpassed pre-pandemic rates.
- Child care is the largest monthly bill for many families, costing an average of:
- $3,149 per month for an infant and a 4-year-old in a child care center ($37,782 per year)
- $1,368/month for an infant in family- based child care ($16,415 per year)
- $2,217/month for two school-age children in family-based afterschool care ($26,598 per year)
- The average wage for a child care worker in New York $37,675/annual / $18.11/hour.
- Family child care educators, a workforce that is 94% women and largely people of color, earn less than 96% of occupations statewide.
- According to the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, approximately 168,600 children received child care assistance in September 2025. In contrast, there are more than one million New York children eligible for child care assistance.
- The percentage of Medicaid-Enrolled New York children who had at least one dental visit within the last year exceeded 50% just once in the last decade.
- Medicaid and Child Health Plus cover 44% of all NYS children and nearly 80% of children in poverty.
- Over 143,000 New York families were subjected to CPS investigations in 2024.
- 75.9% (93,061) of reports filed with the Statewide Central Register in 2024 were unfounded.
Direct Links to Data by Issue Area:
New York State’s Children – Demographics on New York’s current population of children.
Child Poverty:
- Upholding New York’s Commitment to Reduce Child Poverty
- Creating Economic Opportunity for Families through Refundable Tax Credits and Cash Benefits
- Building a New York in Which No Child Experiences Hunger
Child Health:
Child Welfare:
Child Care:
- Prioritzing Access to Child Care Assistance for Low-Income Families in the Rollout of Universal Child Care
- Universal High-Quality Child Care Requires Paying the Workforce a Thriving Wage
