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Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The KIDS COUNT Economic Well-Being Domain is one of four thematic domains — Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community — that together comprise the KIDS COUNT overall index. The domain reflects key indicators of children's economic circumstances, including living in poverty, parental employment, housing cost burden, and youth disconnection from school and work. The indicators are consistently and regularly measured, which allows for legitimate comparisons across states and over time.
The Economic Well-Being domain rank for each state was obtained in the following manner. First, the state numerical values for each indicator within the domain were converted into standard scores and then summed to create a domain standard score for each of the 50 states. The states were then ranked on the basis of their domain standard score in sequential order from highest/best (1) to lowest/worst (50). Standard scores were derived by subtracting the mean score from the observed score and dividing the amount by the standard deviation for that distribution of scores. All measures were given the same weight in calculating the domain standard score.
Data Source
The 4 indicators of child economic well-being were derived from the following government statistical agencies:
Children in poverty U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Children whose parents lack secure employment U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Children living in households with a high housing cost burden U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Teens not in school and not working U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Notes
For example, for the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book, most estimates are from 2010; some indicators reflect earlier years such as 2008-2009, and a couple from 2011—the most current year available at the time.
Break in trend
The 2022 Overall Index Rankings and the 2022 Domain Rankings should not be compared to prior year rankings. The data source for 8 of the indicators changed to the 5-year American Community Survey data because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on data quality in 2020.
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