Health scores and rankings

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Definition and Source

PROVIDER

Definition

The KIDS COUNT index is organized into four key domains: Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community. The Health domain reflects key indicators of children's physical health and access to care, including factors such as insurance coverage, mortality rates, and health risk behaviors. The indicators are consistently and regularly measured, which allows for legitimate comparisons across states and over time.

The Health Domain score is a score computed for each state, based on the indicators within the domain. The score ranges from 0 to 1,000 and is calculated using this formula: 1,000 – [(Value – Minimum Value) / (Maximum Value – Minimum Value)]*1,000. The minimum value is set as the best state value for each indicator based on data from 2019 and the maximum value is set as the worst state value for each indicator based on data from 2019. The indicator scores are averaged to produce a single domain score for each state, with all measures equally weighted.

A score of 1,000 represents the best health outcomes observed for each indicator in 2019, rather than a finish line. A state with a score of 1,000 still has room for improvement. Likewise, a score of 500 does not mean a state is doing half as well as one scoring 1,000, but it does indicate substantial room for improvement. Changes in scores over time — up to the latest available data, largely 2024 — reflect real changes in children's health outcomes, not shifts in how states compare to one another. The new scores allow states to see their own progress or decline, in addition to how they compare to others. The rankings are based on the scores. Learn more about the new methodology at https://www.aecf.org/resources/the-new-kids-count-index-methodology.

Data Source

Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data gathered for the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book.

The 4 indicators of child health well-being are derived from the following government statistical agencies:

Low birth-weight babies Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics.

Children without health insurance U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

Child and teen deaths per 100,000 Death statistics: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics. Population statistics: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates.

Children and teens who are overweight or obese U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, National Survey of Children's Health.

Notes

The year represents the target reference year — the most recent year for which estimates were available for most indicators — though some indicators may reflect prior (or more recent) years based on source availability.

For the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, most estimates are from 2024; some indicators reflect 2023–24 or 2020–24 data or the most current year available from each data source.

N.R. Not ranked.

Last Updated

May 2026

Location

Health scores and rankings in United States