Report: Rising number of uninsured children in Arkansas

Arkansas ranked 43rd in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The state improved two spots from its ranking of 45th in last year’s Data Book, while its increase in uninsured children dropped the state to 48th in the health domain.

Health was one of four areas studied, each composed of four indicators. Arkansas was 33rd in economic well-being, 40th in education, and 45th in family and community.

Among those domains, Arkansas’ teen birth rate continued to fall, though it remains much higher than the national average. Its percentage of young children enrolled in pre-K fell. Scores in fourth grade reading and eighth grade math declined.

This is the 37th year the foundation has published the KIDS COUNT Data Book. For the first time, it gave states a comprehensive score from 0 to 1,000 based on a five-year period from 2019 to 2024. The foundation chose 2019 as its baseline because that was the last year before the pandemic disrupted children’s lives. Overall scores in each domain are based on an average of state rankings across the four indicators.

The Foundation’s Arkansas-based partner, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), presented the findings in a videoconference with reporters.

Arkansas received a score of 427 compared to 547 for the nation as a whole. It ranked in front of Oklahoma followed by Texas, Nevada, Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi, which had a score of 271.

New Hampshire was first with 838, followed by Massachusetts, Utah, Vermont and Minnesota.

Eleven of the 15th lowest-scoring states with scores below 500 were in the Southern region, while five of the top seven with scores above 700 were in the Northeast.

Arkansas ranked 48th in health with a score of 382, a drop of one place from the previous year, when it was 47th. AACF Health Policy Director Camille Richoux said the ranking was tied for Arkansas’ worst ever in the domain. Arkansas was 42nd in 2019.

Richoux said the biggest factor was the increase in child uninsured rates from 6% in 2019 to 8% in 2024. The rate was 4% in 2016. Nationally, the percentage remained steady at 6%.

“For me, the increase in children’s uninsurance is especially concerning because it’s one of the clearest examples of Arkansas losing ground after years of progress,” she said.

Arkansas’ percentages also worsened in two other areas. Its percentage of low birth-weight babies increased from 9.2% in 2019 to 9.5% in 2024. The national percentage increased from 8.3% to 8.5%. Arkansas’ percentage of teens ages 10-17 who were overweight or obese also worsened from 34% in 2018-19 to 37% in 2023-24. National averages improved from 31% to 30%.

The state remained stable in child and teen deaths per 100,000. That number was 35 in both 2019 and 2024. Nationally, it increased from 25 to 27.

Arkansas ranked 45th in the family and community domain with a score of 472. It fell one spot from 2025. It improved in three of the four indicators and remained stable in the fourth.

The state’s percentage of teen births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 improved significantly from 30 in 2019 to 22 in 2024, a drop of 27%. AACF Policy Director Christin Harper noted that Arkansas was still 49th in that indicator as the national rate fell from 17 to 13.

The percentage of children in single-parent families fell 37% to 36%, compared to stable national averages of 34%. Arkansas also improved in its percentage of children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma. That number fell from 11% to 10%, compared to national averages that also improved from 12% to 11%. Arkansas percentage of children living in high-poverty areas, where the poverty rate is at least 30%, remained stable at 10% from 2015-19 to 2020-24. Nationally, that figure improved from 9% to 7%.

Arkansas ranked 33rd in economic well-being with a score of 536. It improved significantly from the previous year, when it ranked 45th. Longer term, it improved one spot from 2019.

The state improved in two indicators from 2019 to 2024. Its percentage of children living in poverty fell from 22% to 20%, compared to a national percentage that dropped from 17% to 15%. AACF Economic Policy Director Peter Gess noted that while 13,000 fewer Arkansas children were living in poverty, 138,000 still were in that situation. Arkansas’ percentage of children whose parents lack secure employment fell from 29% to 25%, compared to similar national averages of 26% falling to 25%.

The state’s percentage of children living in households with a high housing cost burden – meaning more than 30% of income – worsened from 22% to 25% while trailing the national percentages, which worsened from 30% to 31%. Gess noted the state’s ranking dropped from ninth to 16th.

In the fourth indicator, Arkansas’ percentage of teens not in school and not working remained stable at 7%, while the national percentage increased from 6% to 7%.

Gess noted that the 2024 data does not take into account recent federal policy changes that are leaving fewer people served by federal programs, and it does not capture recent higher rates of inflation.

Arkansas ranked 40th in education with a score of 318. Its ranking fell four points from 36th in 2025, and its education score fell by 150 points from 2019. A big contributor was the percentage of 3-4-year-old children not in school. That number rose to 59% in 2020-24, ranking the state 34th. In 2015-19, the percentage was 50%, ranking the state 13th. Nationally, the percentage rose from 52% to 54%.

Nicole Carey, AACF education policy director, said many counties have only about a third of childcare slots available to meet demand. Costs in some places are up 35-37%. Meanwhile, state funding for the Arkansas Better Chance program has been flat for 10-15 years, while the mostly federally funded School Readiness Assistance program was reduced in the fall.

Arkansas’ rankings in two education indicators also fell. Its percentage of fourth graders not proficient in reading increased from 69% in 2019 to 72% in 2024, while the national average rose from 66% to 70%. Arkansas’ percentage of eighth graders not proficient in math rose from 73% to 80%. Nationally, the figure also rose significantly from 67% to 73%.

The state’s percentage of high school students not graduating on time improved from 12% in 2018-19 to 11% in 2023-24. The national percentage also improved from 14% to 13%.

Nationally, scores improved in seven indicators, the highest being the decline in teen births and the share of children living in high-poverty areas. Seven indicators showed declines, including three of the four education indicators: math proficiency, reading proficiency, and preschool attendance. Forty-seven states showed declines in education from 2019 to 2024. The report said the declines indicate the country has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic’s disruptions.