Georgia ranks 39th out of 50 states in the nation for overall child and family well-being in the 2025 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, recently released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, falling two spots from the 2024 report. This ranking marks a troubling reversal after making progress in recent years. It’s the Peach State’s lowest overall ranking in seven years.
Georgia ranked 48th in the inaugural KIDS COUNT Data Book released in 1990 but hasn’t been in the bottom 10 states since 2017. After holding steady at 38th for several years, we achieved our highest ranking of 37th in 2023 and maintained that in 2024.
“This slip in progress is a stark reminder that we must persist in our work toward measurably better outcomes for all our children, families, and communities,” said Georgia Family Connection Partnership Executive Director Gaye Smith. “It’s particularly troubling to see the startling increase in the number of teens and children dying in our state, and to lose ground in areas like economic well-being and education, where Georgia has made some gains and performed relatively well in recent years. When we dig deeper into the data, it’s clear that success for some does not always translate into success for all.”
The KIDS COUNT® Data Book uses 16 indicators to rank each state across four domains—health, education, economic well-being, and family and community—to assess child and family well-being.
This year’s Data Book reveals that Georgia has slipped or plateaued in some indicators, while neighboring states have continued to improve and outpace our progress, particularly in economic well-being and education. Georgia continues to struggle in the family and community and health domains, reflecting an increase in our child and teen death rate and only a nominal improvement to our stubbornly high low-birthweight rate.
Georgia Rankings
Economic Wellbeing
Rank: 37
Georgia saw its largest lapse in the economic well-being domain, dropping from 32nd to 37th. The percentage of children living in poverty in Georgia in 2023 was 18%—higher than the national rate of 16% and Georgia’s 2022 rate of 17%. This 1% increase represents 50,000 additional children living in poverty in Georgia.
Education
Rank: 32
Georgia fell one spot in education from 31st to 32nd. This slip can be attributed to a few indicators, including the percent of fourth graders who scored below proficient reading level. Georgia’s rate of students not achieving this milestone worsened from 68% in 2022 to 70% in 2024—the second-highest rate recorded for Georgia since this became an indicator in 2009. While that rate is on par with the national average, with a rank of 28th, this is still a troubling trend. Because research links third- and fourth-grade reading proficiency to critical indicators like high school graduation and future economic opportunities.
Health
Rank: 40
Georgia’s overall ranking in the health domain improved from 43rd to 40th. However, we continue to hover near the bottom 10 in the nation, due in part to our low-birthweight rate, which has remained consistently higher than the national average since 2010.
Family & Community
Rank: 42
Georgia continues to perform in the bottom 10 states in the family and community context domain, garnering our lowest national ranking at 42nd. The percent of children in single-parent families in Georgia in 2023 was 38%, which continues to be higher than the national rate of 34%. And the percent of children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma in Georgia worsened from 11% in 2022 to 12% in 2023. This 1% increase represents an additional 14,000 children living in these households, ranking Georgia 44th in this indicator.
Resources
2025 KIDS COUNT® Data Book (PDF)