Tennessee experienced a sharp decline in measures of child well-being in recent years, according to a state-by-state assessment of federal economic, educational, census and health data analyzed yearly by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The foundation’s “2026 Kids Count Data Book” examined a series of metrics to determine how children fared, overall, in every state in the nation. Its latest data, from 2024, found kids were worse off since 2019 not only in Tennessee, but in 29 other states.
The report, however, highlighted one positive outcome for Tennessee children: The state ranked 18th in the nation for educational outcomes for children.
But in every other category examined by the foundation, Tennessee was near the bottom for child well-being. About one in every five residents of the state is under 18.
Tennessee, along with Rhode Island and Nebraska, experienced the sharpest declines in the economic well-being of its children. More than half of all U.S. states saw improvement on this metric, the report noted.