Arkansas sees improvements in kids' well-being but still lags
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Arkansas remains near the bottom nationally for child well-being, with health outcomes driving some of the state's worst marks in the 2026 Kids Count Data Book.
The big picture: The annual report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation tracks 16 indicators across poverty, education, health and family conditions, all of which signal how prepared children are to learn, stay healthy and eventually enter the workforce.
By the numbers: The Natural State ranked No. 43 overall, a small improvement from No. 45 last year.
- The state scored 427 on the report's new 0-to-1,000 scale, compared with the U.S. score of 547. Arkansas ranked No. 33 in economic well-being, No. 40 in education, No. 48 in health and No. 45 in family and community.
- About 138,000 Arkansas children, or 20%, lived in poverty in 2024, compared with 15% nationally. About 25% of the state's children lived in households spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
- Arkansas also had 57,000 uninsured children, and 44,000 3- and 4-year-olds not in school.
Zoom in: Housing affordability is often discussed as a Northwest Arkansas issue, but the pressure is now statewide, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) economic policy director Pete Gess told reporters last week.
State of play: Arkansas has made progress in some areas. Fewer children live in families where the head of household lacks a high school diploma, and the teen birth rate has decreased by 27% since 2019, falling to 22 per 1,000 girls ages 15–19.
- Yes, but: Even with the decrease, "Arkansas is still 49th in the country for teen births, with a rate that is almost double that of the national teen birth rate of 13," Christin Harper, AACF's policy director, said.
Arkansas made some progress on child poverty, parent education and teen births, but other states are improving faster, AACF executive director Keesa Smith-Brantley said.
What they're saying: Arkansas has let investments in children stall "almost to a halt" while families struggle with affordability, early education and health care access, she said. The state once led on pre-K and children's health coverage, but is now losing ground as state leaders prioritize tax cuts and budget surpluses, Smith-Brantley argued.
- "We hope that this data will make Arkansans … leadership, policy makers, legislators, but also all citizens, look at what is happening pertaining to children and speak up about the fact that we need to do better for our kids and make better investments for our children."
What's next: The latest data mostly stops at 2024, so it does not reflect recent federal policy changes. AACF staff warned that Medicaid and SNAP cuts could push Arkansas further behind in future reports, especially as the state's rate of uninsured children rose from about 6% in 2019 to nearly 8% in 2024.
The bottom line: Arkansas has pockets of progress, but child health, early education access and family affordability remain big drags. AACF says state investments are not keeping pace.