PRESS RELEASE
June 8, 2026
Contact: Nicole Correia, (518) 463-1896 x131, ncorreia@scaany.org
2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book Shows New York State Ranks 30th Schuyler Center Urges Investment in Kids, Families, & Communities
New Scoring Index to Increase Accountability By Showing How New York’s Policies and Investment Affect Children’s Daily Lives
Data release event on Tuesday, June 9 at 9am in Albany. Details and registration here.
ALBANY, NEW YORK — New York State ranks eighth in child health, according to the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a 50-state report of recent data compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how kids are faring nationwide.
While New York remains strong in child health, it ranks 30th in the nation overall. The data shows New York State leaders must do more to support economic wellbeing (rank 46), housing affordability (rank 46), and child poverty (rank 38). View Schuyler Center’s KIDS COUNT Data page.
These rankings highlight the need for attention to the policies recommended by the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, including further expansion of the state child tax credit; a robust, permanent Housing Access Voucher Program; and investments toward child care for every family.
For the first time this year, states receive a comprehensive score (from 0 to 1,000) in the Data Book, not just a ranking. The scores track 16 indicators in four domains — economic wellbeing, education, health, and family and community factors — over a five-year period from 2019 to 2024. The new scoring system shows whether policies and public investment are actually improving children’s lives, not merely how states compare to each other.
New York State received a score of 558, just above the national score of 547, with highest scores in the child health domain where New York scores 768 out of 1,000 and ranks 8th in the nation, highlighting the fact that only 3% of New York children are uninsured.
New York’s lowest scores, however, fall in the economic wellbeing domain, where New York scores just 406 out of 1,000. In particular, the data show that approximately 700,000, or 18% of New York children live in poverty, while 37% of children in New York live in households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
“New York has made a commitment to reducing child poverty, but a ranking of 30th in the nation should be a wake-up call. A state with our resources and our values should be a national leader for children and families, and we are not there yet. The data are clear: New York must invest in family economic security, child care, children’s health, and child welfare if we are going to make good on our promise to cut child poverty in half by 2031. The good news is we know what works. We need the political will to do it.” said Kate Breslin, president and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, New York’s member of the Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT network.
In its 37th year of publication, the KIDS COUNT® Data Book provides reliable statewide numbers to help leaders see where progress is being made, where greater support is needed and which strategies are making a difference.
Schuyler Center encourages New York’s lawmakers and officials to use this detailed information to unite across party lines and respond with initiatives that invest in young people. By offering a state-specific road map, the Data Book equips policymakers, advocates, and communities with the information they need to make decisions that help kids and young people thrive.
“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. “The Data Book challenges us to follow the evidence and do what delivers results.”
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DATA RELEASE INFORMATION
The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book will be available at www.aecf.org/databook. Journalists interested in creating maps, graphs and rankings in stories about the Data Book can use the KIDS COUNT Data Center at datacenter.aecf.org.
ABOUT THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION
The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for the nation’s young people by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. KIDS COUNT is a registered trademark of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
ABOUT THE SCHUYLER CENTER FOR ANALYSIS AND ADVOCACY
For more than 150 years, the Schuyler Center has led advocacy rooted in compassion, evidence, and belief that government should work for the greater good. Schuyler Center’s work acknowledges the historic inequities woven throughout shared systems, and advocates for public policies and investments that seek to address those inequities while improving health, welfare, and human services for all New Yorkers, with a focus on children and families experiencing poverty.
Schuyler Center’s advocacy has advanced policies that reduce child poverty, build a universal child care system, promote child health and wellbeing, and transform the child welfare system.
Schuyler Center achieves its goals through creative and detailed data and policy analysis, coalition building, and advocacy with elected officials, agency executives, policymakers, and stakeholders. Learn more at https://scaany.org
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