Basic Facts about Low-income Children, Children under 3 Years, 2012

Abstract

Children under 18 years represent 23 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty.1 Among all children, 45 percent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (22 percent) live in poor families. Our very youngest children – infants, and toddlers under age 3 years – appear to be particularly vulnerable, with 48 percent living in low-income families, including 25 percent living in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children’s experience of economic insecurity. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics of children and their parents. It highlights important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children from their less disadvantaged counterparts.