Rhode Island now trails behind every other New England state in the latest national ranking of children’s well-being after sliding from 12th place to 19th.
The Ocean State had outpaced Maine in overall rankings last year in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, which looks at economic, educational, health, and family/community indicators. In the 2025 edition released June 9, Maine also dropped in the rankings but not as much as Rhode Island. Maine fell from 15th place in 2024 to 17th place.
New England states performed well overall: New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts placed first, second and third in the national rankings, respectively. Connecticut placed eighth nationally.
Rhode Island’s score was the result of dips in both economic wellbeing and health, according to a statement from Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, the local branch of the national nonprofit policy, advocacy and data organization. In the 2025 report’s national rankings, Rhode Island fell from 9th to 24th in economic wellbeing and from 6th to 16th in health.
“We know what kids need to grow up healthy and connected so they can thrive as adults: Stable homes, financially secure families, strong schools, nutritious food, meaningful relationships and opportunities to learn, play and grow,” Paige Parks, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT executive director, said in the statement after the report’s release.
The 2025 report largely relies on 2023 federal data, with multiyear averages used to refine some smaller datasets.
But the national data suggests many Rhode Island families continue to face financial insecurity. Two categories dented the Ocean State’s economic wellbeing score significantly. It placed 36th nationally in the share of children in households where no parent has full-time year-round employment. It also placed 36th for its percentage of families spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
Rhode Island fared better in the percentage of children living in poverty — defined as below $30,900 for a family of four — and placed 14th nationally.
The state maintained low rates of uninsured children, rising from 2% to 3%. Low birth weight held steady at 7.3% of live births. Rhode Island’s child and teen death rates rose from 15 to 23 per 100,000. The national rate for child and teen deaths also rose from 25 to 29 per 100,000, although each New England state recorded similar increases in 2023.
Approximately 33% of Rhode Island youth were diagnosed as overweight or obese in 2023, which placed the state 35th nationally.
Academic performance metrics
Educational outcomes remain the state’s weakest area overall, even as the state improved by moving from 29th to 28th nationally.
The state had 67% of fourth graders reading below grade level — only three percentage points worse than New Hampshire. Meanwhile, 74% of eighth graders were below grade level in math.
Rhode Island placed 37th nationally, however, for the number of high school students not graduating on time, at 17%.
Rhode Island did improve slightly in family and community metrics, rising four spots to 16th place in 2025. All four metrics improved at least incrementally from last year, with the highest-ranking place a fourth place slot for teen birth rates, at seven births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19.
In her statement, Parks highlighted the urgency of investing in programs that support children’s long-term success.
“Programs that meet these needs are smart investments, fostering long-term gains like employment and economic growth,” Parks wrote. “Investing in kids isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s a smart, future-focused strategy that benefits the whole state.”
Some of the legislative priorities Rhode Island KIDS COUNT has backed in the soon-to-conclude legislative session include strengthening the RI Works Program, establishing baby bonds for newborns in RI Works, and expanding maternal and child mental health supports like MomsPRN and PediPRN.
A state profile for Rhode Island is available on the Annie E. Casey Foundation website, as is the full 2025 Data Book.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
