Child Poverty Facts
In Massachusetts, one in eight kids lives at the federal poverty level, one in four lives in a low-income family, and one in three lives below the Family Economic Self-Sufficiency measure.
This report explores the scope and sources of child poverty in Massachusetts. It closes by sharing potential first steps and questions to ask related to reducing child poverty statewide.
On one hand, Massachusetts can be proud of its high family incomes, top-rated hospitals, renowned colleges and universities and its overall high ranking on indicators of child well-being. On the other hand, the state’s poverty rate has hovered around 13% for a decade and counting, and it is home to one of the nation’s largest divides between high-income and low-income residents.