Study: Ohio among states with highest rate of young children in poverty

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio is among the states with the highest rates of young children affected by poverty, according to a recent study.

The Birth Injury Lawyers Group, a nationwide network of attorneys, calculated the average number of children, aged 5 or younger, living in poverty from 2019 to 2023 in each U.S. state. The study, released in late August, sourced its data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The analysis found that Ohio was the ninth-worst state for child poverty, with 220 out of every 1,000 children living in poverty. That number is about 30.95% above the national average of 168 out of every 1,000 children living in poverty.

Over the five-year period, the Buckeye State was home to 586,212 children aged between 0 to 5, of whom 128,765 were in poverty, according to the study.