• How many children under age 18 are in the United States?
• What is the racial/ethnic diversity of children in the United States?
• How has the racial/ethnic diversity of children under age 18 changed from 1990 to 2000?
• What is the racial/ethnic diversity of public school students enrolled in grades K-12?
• How many non-native English-speaking students are enrolled in the public schools?
• What are the poverty rates for children and adults?
• What are the economic conditions of children and families in the United States?
• How many mothers are in the labor force?
• What are the primary child care arrangements for employed parents?
• How many children with disabilities are served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Parts B and C?

 

How many children under age 18 are in the United States?

• There were more than 73 million children under age 18 in the United States in 2008. Nearly one-third (21 million) were under age five.

Children Under Age 18 in the United States	Number	Percentage
Total population of children under age 18	73,941,848	100
Under age 5	21,005,852	28.4
5- to 13-years-old	36,004,639	48.69
14- to 17-years-old	16,931,357	22.898

 

Source: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex and Selected Age Groups for the United States: July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau http://www.iea.ualr.edu/research/demographic/population/NC-EST2008/NC-EST2008-02.xls

Return to Top

 

What is the racial/ethnic diversity of children in the United States?

Racial diversity¹ for children under age 18 in 2008:

• 56% - White
• 14% - Black or African American
• 1% - American Indian & Alaska Native
• 4% - Asian
• 22% Hispanic or Latino
• 0% - Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander
• 3% - Two or more races

¹The terms used to describe racial/ethnic groups are those used by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Source: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Center (July 2009) http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=103

Return to Top

 

How has the racial/ethnic diversity¹ of children under age 18 changed from 1990 to 2000?

• The racial diversity of children under age 18 in the United States changed significantly from 1990 to 2000. The percentage of white children has decreased from 74.9% to 68.6%; while the percentage of Hispanic children has increased from 12.2% to 17.1%.

¹The terms used to describe racial/ethnic groups are those used by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis from U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census Summary File One (Tables P12, P12h, and P12i)

Return to Top

 

What is the racial/ethnic diversity of students enrolled in grades K-12?

In 2007-2008,

•  59.3 % - White, non-Hispanic
• 15.3 % - Black, non-Hispanic
• 19.3 %  - Hispanic, regardless of race
• 4.6 %  - Asian/Pacific Islander
• 1.4 % - American Indian/Alaska Native

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary Schools in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (June 2009) http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009321.pdf

Return to Top

 

How many non-native English-speaking students are enrolled in the public schools?

From a survey of state education agencies, it is estimated that:

• 4,584,946 English language learners were enrolled in public schools (Pre through Grade 12) for the 2000-2001 school year, representing approximately 11.7% of the total public school student enrollment
• Since the 1990-91 school year, the limited English proficient student population has grown approximately 105%. During this same period, the general school population has grown only 12%.

Source: Office of English Language Acquisition, Enhancement and Academic Achievement Limited English Proficient Students. Kindler, Anneka, Survey of the States' Limited English Proficient Students and Available Educational Programs and Services 2000-2001 Summary Report. http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/

Return to Top

 

What are the poverty rates for children and adults?

• The poverty rate for children and adults was 13.2% in 2008.
• The number of people in poverty was 39.8 million.
• Real median household income¹ fell 3.6% between 2007 and 2008, to $50,303.

¹Income for families with and without children.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Report. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf

Return to Top

 

What are the economic conditions of children and families in the United States?¹

• 17.6% of children under age 18 are living in poverty.¹
• 8.5% of children under age 18 are living in extreme poverty (income below 50% of poverty level).²
• In 2006, 40% of children under age 18 were in low-income families.³
• The median income of families with children in 2006 was $54,500.⁴

Notes:

¹Percent of Children in Poverty is the share of children under age 18 who live in families with incomes below the U.S. poverty threshold, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition. In 2008, the poverty threshold for a family of two adults and two children was $21,834.  U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2008.

²U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. Current Population Report: Consumer Income.  http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf

³Low-income is defined as 200% of the federal poverty level.
Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book. (2008)  http://datacenter.kidscount.org/db_08pdf/2008_databook.pdf

⁴Median Income of Families With Children is the median annual income for families with related children under age 18 living in the household. “Related children” include the householder’s (head of the household) children by birth, marriage, or adoption; as well as other persons under age 18 (such as nieces, nephews, or grandchildren) who are related to the householder and living in the household. The median income is the dollar amount that divides the income distribution into two equal groups—half with income above the median, half with income below it. Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book. (2006) http://datacenter.kidscount.org/db_08pdf/2008_databook.pdf   

Return to Top

 

How many mothers are in the labor force?

• In 2008, 64% of mothers with children under age six, and 77.3% of mothers with children ages six to 17 were in the labor force.
• In 2008, 56.4% of mothers with infants (under age one) were in the labor force.

Note: The labor force participation rate is defined as the percentage of people in a specified population group who are either employed or looking for work.
 
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Employment Characteristics of Families in 2008 http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf

Return to Top

 

What are the primary child care arrangements for employed parents?

• About one-quarter of all children under the age of 5 with employed mothers were cared for in center-based settings
• Four in five children under the age of 5 with employed mothers were cared for by someone other than their parents

Primary Child Care Arrangements for Children Ages 0-4 with Employed Mothers by Type and Percentage, 2005
Mother care	4.4%
Father care	17.3%
Grandparents care	19.6%
Other relative care	6.6%
Center-based care	23.8%
Other nonrelative care	16.0%
Other	12.0%

 

Source: ChildStats.gov, Child care: Primary child care arrangements for children ages 0–4 with employed mothers by selected characteristics, selected years 1985–2005 and Summer 2006.  http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/fam3a.asp

Return to Top

 

How many children with disabilities are served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Parts B and C¹?

During the fall 2004 school year,

• 701,949 children with disabilities between ages 3 to 5 years received services under IDEA Part B.
• 6,118,437 children ages 6 to 21 years received services under IDEA Part B.
• 282,733 children ages birth to 2 years received early intervention services under IDEA Part C. This number represents approximately 2.3% of the total population of infants and toddlers in 2004.

¹IDEA is the federal education program that assists states in developing and implementing systems of comprehensive services for all eligible individuals with disabilities, birth through 21 years of age. Part B provides services to children ages 3 to 21 years of age. Part C provides services to infants and toddlers (birth to 2 years of age).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Twenty-Eighth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2006. Vol. 1. http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2006/parts-b-c/28th-vol-1.pdf

Return to Top