Delaware comes in at 31st in overall child well-being in the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book with educational outcomes bringing the state’s ranking down.
The Data Book presents national and state data from 16 indicators in four domains – economic well-being, education, health and family and community factors – and ranks states on how children are faring.
Delaware ranked 39th in education, 30th in health, 31st in family and community and 14th in economic well-being.
This year for the first time states received a comprehensive score from 0 to 1,000. Delaware’s overall score was 554 - higher than the national score of 547.
"When we're talking about child well-being and making progress over time, we have a lot of different factors that influence that. It might be who is in charge at a given moment, and what their priorities are. It might be, what the general economy looks like, and what we can invest in to kids. It might be political will," said Janice Barlow, KIDS COUNT Delaware director.
In education, Delaware was worse this year in three indicators, young children not in school, fourth graders not proficient in reading, and eighth graders not proficient in math. The state was stable in high school students not graduating.
The state was worse this year in three indicators - young children not in school, fourth grade reading proficiency and eighth grade math proficiency. It remained stable in high school graduation rate.
The state showed strength in economic well-being, ranking 14th and performing better in all four indicators.
The state improved in teens not in school and not working, children living in households with a high housing cost burden and children whose parents lack secure employment.
Barlow notes the state also made progress with children in poverty.
"Poverty is the indicator that affects every other indicator we report on, and so we really need to be cognizant and aware of what's going on in that poverty number. And we want to see that constant improvement. And it's good that we are seeing it, but we want to make sure that there's sustained progress there," said Barlow.
State leaders are encouraged to use the data from KIDS COUNT to guide policy and budget decisions - prioritizing children and families with the hope that strategic investment today will shape the state for generations.
You can find the report at https://www.aecf.org/resources/2026-kids-count-data-book
