Mapped: Share of Children in Each U.S. State in 2024

Mapped: Share of Children in Each U.S. State

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The U.S. is aging, but not evenly. Falling birth rates and a swelling retiree population mean today’s national average for children is just 21.7% of residents

This map visualizes the share of children in every state, laying bare a stark geographic divide that hints at future economic winners and losers. Data for this map is sourced from the Census Bureau population estimates as of July 1st, 2024.

Ranked: U.S. States With the Most Children

Utah tops the ranking at 27%, buoyed by its fertility rate—at 1.92 per woman of child-bearing age. For reference, the fertility rate measures the number of children an adult women will bear in her lifetime. Thus, a higher fertility rate equals more children.

And despite Utah seeing the largest declines in fertility this century, it’s still top-four across the country.

Rank	State	Code	Share of Population Below 18 (%)
1	Utah	UT	26.6
2	Texas	TX	24.5
3	Nebraska	NE	24.1
4	South Dakota	SD	23.9
5	Alaska	AK	23.6
6	Oklahoma	OK	23.6
7	Idaho	ID	23.4
8	Kansas	KS	23.3
9	North Dakota	ND	23.3
10	Louisiana	LA	23.2
11	Indiana	IN	22.9
12	Mississippi	MS	22.9
13	Arkansas	AR	22.7
14	Georgia	GA	22.7
15	Iowa	IA	22.5
16	Kentucky	KY	22.4
17	Minnesota	MN	22.4
18	Alabama	AL	22.0
19	Missouri	MO	22.0
20	Maryland	MD	21.9
21	Tennessee	TN	21.9
22	Wyoming	WY	21.8
23	Ohio	OH	21.7
24	New Jersey	NJ	21.5
25	North Carolina	NC	21.4
26	Virginia	VA	21.4
27	California	CA	21.3
28	Illinois	IL	21.2
29	Nevada	NV	21.1
30	New Mexico	NM	21.0
31	South Carolina	SC	21.0
32	Arizona	AZ	20.9
33	Michigan	MI	20.8
34	Washington	WA	20.8
35	Wisconsin	WI	20.8
36	Montana	MT	20.5
37	Colorado	CO	20.4
38	Delaware	DE	20.3
39	Hawaii	HI	20.3
40	Pennsylvania	PA	20.1
41	New York	NY	20.0
42	Connecticut	CT	19.8
43	West Virginia	WV	19.7
44	Florida	FL	19.3
45	Oregon	OR	19.3
46	Massachusetts	MA	19.0
47	District of Columbia	DC	18.5
48	Rhode Island	RI	18.4
49	New Hampshire	NH	17.7
50	Maine	ME	17.6
51	Vermont	VT	17.4

Neighboring Idaho (23%), South Dakota (24%), and Nebraska (24%) also exceed the national average of children. High fertility rates combined with in-migration of young families keeps the Mountain West demographically youthful.

New England’s Demographic Squeeze

At the other end of the list, Vermont’s children make up just 17% of residents—the lowest share in the country (aside from Puerto Rico not visualized on this map).

Maine and New Hampshire follow at 18%, while Rhode Island and Massachusetts sit at 18–19%.

Low birth rates and persistent out-migration of young adults have sped up population aging across New England, raising alarms over future workforce shortages and rising dependency ratios.

Why the Child Gap Matters for Schools and Budgets

States with fewer kids face practical strains.

In Vermont, enrollment has shrunk by more than 30,000 students over the past three decades.

This creates a vicious cycle: half of Vermont’s 250 school districts have fewer than 100 students, yet maintaining these small schools is expensive, driving up property taxes while educational quality may suffer.

Meanwhile, child-rich states must expand classrooms and childcare but they gain a long-term edge: a deeper talent pipeline that attracts employers and fuels economic growth.

Diverging youth populations today will shape everything from labor markets to congressional apportionment in the decades ahead.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

This most can be accompanied by checking out U.S. States by Share of Older Adults on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.