Ohioans generally think of their state as being a fantastic place for children to grow up. But perception does not always match reality, as WalletHub’s “2025’s States With the Most Underprivileged Children” suggests.

Believe it or not, Ohio is ranked 18th on the lists of states with the most underprivileged children. Many of us might not have expected the state to crack the worst 25, let alone be ranked that poorly.

But a look at the metrics tells the tale. Ohio is 16th for the percentage of children in households below the poverty line, 26th for the percentage of maltreated children, 12th for child food-insecurity rate, 26th for the percentage of uninsured children, 20th for the percentage of children in foster care, 12th for the percentage of children in single-parent families, 27th for the child and youth homelessness rate, and an absolutely shameful sixth for infant mortality rate.

For comparison, New Mexico ranked first (worst) in the study; Connecticut was best. Neighboring West Virginia performed even worse than Ohio, ranking sixth. Pennsylvania is 35th.

Why Ohio continues to do such an awful job tackling the infant mortality problem remains a mystery. But surely there are ways to work toward improving all these measures for our kids.

“Programs that are most effective at equalizing opportunity focus on both structural and interpersonal or relational support,” said Cristina Mogor-Wilson, a professor at the University of Connecticut. “High-quality early childhood education, access to comprehensive healthcare, food security initiatives, and family-focused case management programs have strong evidence behind them. Culturally grounded community-based services that build trust and empower families are particularly effective for communities of color and immigrant families. Importantly, interventions are most successful when they simultaneously support children and their caregivers and involve them in the co-creation of interventions.”

That last bit is important. We’ll improve conditions for our children if we improve quality of life and opportunity for the adults in their lives.

For too many children, growing up is a struggle for survival in Ohio. We don’t want to think about it, but if we ignore the challenges — if we fail these kids — it is a stain on not just their future, but ours.