West Virginia improved its overall child well-being ranking compared to last year, according to an annual assessment — although that meant moving from 44th to 41st among the states.
That’s according to the most recent Kids Count Data Book, a 50-state report of recent data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how kids are faring in post-pandemic America.
The annual project assesses national and state data in economic well-being, education, health and family and community factors. The Kids Count Data Book then ranks states according to how children are faring overall.
“This year’s Databook shows that West Virginia’s children and families have made incremental progress in some family economic security and health measures that are worth celebrating,” said Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy think tank, which is West Virginia’s member of the Casey Foundation’s Kids Count network.
“At the same time, there is much work to do to meet the promise of being a place that is great for children and families. No child should live in poverty or lack access to well-resourced early childhood and K-12 education.”
West Virginia ranked 41st overall, ahead of Arizona, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nevada, Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico.
More specifically, in the four main areas, West Virginia ranked:
- 39th in economic well-being
- 39th in health
- 32nd in family and community context
- and 45th in education
“In recent years, state lawmakers have focused on a small sliver of the population that can utilize private schools or home school, while failing to invest in the public schools that serve more than 4 out of 5 children statewide,” Allen said.
“To truly move the needle on education outcomes, we must meet children where they are — and for the vast majority that will always be our public schools, which serve all students.
The most recent Data Book compares well-being data with rates prior to the covid-19 pandemic, with interpretations demonstrating both the challenges of continued recovery but also hopeful results demonstrating positive policy interventions.
For example, while math and reading scores in West Virginia and nationwide are still reflecting post-pandemic recovery challenges, West Virginia has seen some of the largest improvements from the pandemic years in both categories.
The Data Book highlights a West Virginia gap in early childhood education, noting that 71% of West Virginia children ages three and four are not enrolled in school (child care, or preschool), the second-highest rate in the country.
Meanwhile, 9% of West Virginia teens ages 16 to 19 are not attending school nor working, the second-highest rate nationwide.
Both statistics are likely a reflection of families still returning to post-pandemic normalcy, according to analysts associated with the project.
West Virginia saw some positive trends in economic and health measures in the 2025 data
book.
Within the economic well-being domain, West Virginia saw reductions in the share of children living with parents who lack secure employment (30% in 2023) and in households with a high housing cost burden (19%, making WV the 2nd-best among all states on this indicator).
The rate of children with health insurance held steady at 97%, while the rate of teen births significantly declined over the last decade (from 40 per 1,000 females aged 15-19 in 2013 to 18 per 1,000 in 2023).
In all cases, according to the analysts, federal economic policies related to helping households maintain health coverage and economic security alongside a strong economic recovery post-pandemic likely played key roles.
Allen concluded, “Policies that bolster families’ economic security, including child care assistance, health coverage, and food assistance programs, will strengthen child welfare and lead to better outcomes broadly.
“If Congress enacts policies that undermine health, food security, and education, West Virginia and all states could see these metrics slip and families be worse off.”