Michigan Ranks 32nd in U.S. for Overall Child Well-Being [Infographic]

Michigan ranks 32nd in the 25th annual KIDS COUNT report on overall child well-being from the Michigan League for Public Policy.

The report ranks all 50 states and considers education, economic well-being, health, and family/community.

Improvements in the last 25 years include public health education measures which have reduced teenage pregnancies.

The rate of births per 1,000 Michigan teens improved by 56 percent, falling from 59 births to 26 births per 1,000 teens.

Michigan’s worsening trends since 1990 included the 39 percent increase in the share of children living in poverty with one in every four children living in poverty.

Michigan’s worst ranking was in education. Michigan did poorly on fourth-grade reading, eighth-grade math and on-time graduation, ranking 37th, 38th and 39th among the states.

This year’s ranking of 32nd for overall child well-being places Michigan behind all of its Great Lakes neighbors: Minnesota (5th), Wisconsin (13th), Illinois (20th), Ohio (24th) and Indiana (27th).

The report ranks Michigan in four areas:

• Economic well-being: 34th
• Education: 38th
• Health: 29th
• Family and Community: 29th

Michigan ranked 31st in last year's report.

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