Uninsured children by state

Texas has the highest estimate (13.6%); Massachusetts has the lowest (2.1%). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, 2024.

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best. Ranks reflect point estimates; close values may not differ statistically.

Lowest state estimate 2.1% Massachusetts
Highest state estimate 13.6% Texas
Texas: 13.6% Arizona: 9.3% Wyoming: 9.0% Alaska: 8.8% Florida: 8.5% Oklahoma: 8.5% Idaho: 8.1% Nevada: 8.0% South Dakota: 8.0% Georgia: 7.9% Arkansas: 7.7% Montana: 7.7% Kansas: 7.0% North Dakota: 6.7% Missouri: 6.6% Utah: 6.6% Tennessee: 6.5% Indiana: 6.1% New Mexico: 6.1% Colorado: 6.0% South Carolina: 5.9% Delaware: 5.8% Mississippi: 5.8% Ohio: 5.6% North Carolina: 5.5% Pennsylvania: 5.4% Nebraska: 5.3% Virginia: 5.2% Kentucky: 5.0% New Jersey: 4.7% Maryland: 4.6% Maine: 4.5% Alabama: 4.3% Wisconsin: 4.2% Louisiana: 4.1% Washington: 3.9% Iowa: 3.8% Minnesota: 3.7% Rhode Island: 3.7% Illinois: 3.6% Michigan: 3.5% California: 3.1% Hawaii: 2.9% West Virginia: 2.8% New York: 2.7% Oregon: 2.7% Connecticut: 2.6% Vermont: 2.6% New Hampshire: 2.3% Massachusetts: 2.1%
Each dot is a state. The scale runs from the lowest to highest estimate; intervals are not shown here. Read about uncertainty.

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is 5.45%: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

No other state is statistically tied with Texas at 90% confidence. Every other state differs from the highest point estimate under this pairwise test. This is not a confidence interval for rank, and testing multiple pairs increases false-positive risk.

See the top ten estimates with their 90% margins of error1.7%14.0%TexasArizonaWyomingAlaskaFloridaOklahomaIdahoNevadaSouth DakotaGeorgia

Shared axis spans the complete 50-state estimate ± MOE range. Intervals describe individual estimates; overlapping intervals alone are not our significance test.

How does this compare with uninsured rate?

These states’ ranks change the most between uninsured children and uninsured rate. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

StateUninsured childrenUninsured rate
North Dakota6.7% · #146.1% · #34
Alabama4.3% · #338.2% · #19
Louisiana4.1% · #357.7% · #22

Inspect these states, definitions and pairwise differences.

The state-by-state view

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Ranked among 50 states; District of Columbia and Puerto Rico shown for reference. Rank 1 = highest value.

Uninsured children · 2024 · Percent
RankState / jurisdictionValue90% margin of errorDifference from previous rank
1Texas13.6%± 0.4%Highest estimate
2Arizona9.3%± 0.8%Different at 90%
3Wyoming9.0%± 1.9%Not distinguishable at 90%
4Alaska8.8%± 1.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
5Florida8.5%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
5Oklahoma8.5%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
7Idaho8.1%± 1.1%Not distinguishable at 90%
8Nevada8.0%± 1.0%Not distinguishable at 90%
8South Dakota8.0%± 1.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
10Georgia7.9%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
11Arkansas7.7%± 0.9%Not distinguishable at 90%
11Montana7.7%± 1.1%Not distinguishable at 90%
13Kansas7.0%± 0.7%Not distinguishable at 90%
14North Dakota6.7%± 1.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
15Missouri6.6%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
15Utah6.6%± 0.8%Not distinguishable at 90%
17Tennessee6.5%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
18Indiana6.1%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
18New Mexico6.1%± 1.0%Not distinguishable at 90%
20Colorado6.0%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
21South Carolina5.9%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
22Delaware5.8%± 1.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
22Mississippi5.8%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
24Ohio5.6%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
25North Carolina5.5%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
26Pennsylvania5.4%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
27Nebraska5.3%± 1.0%Not distinguishable at 90%
28Virginia5.2%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
29Kentucky5.0%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
30New Jersey4.7%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
31Maryland4.6%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
32Maine4.5%± 0.7%Not distinguishable at 90%
33Alabama4.3%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
34Wisconsin4.2%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
35Louisiana4.1%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
36Washington3.9%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
37Iowa3.8%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
38Minnesota3.7%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
38Rhode Island3.7%± 1.7%Not distinguishable at 90%
40Illinois3.6%± 0.3%Not distinguishable at 90%
41Michigan3.5%± 0.3%Not distinguishable at 90%
42California3.1%± 0.1%Different at 90%
43Hawaii2.9%± 0.7%Not distinguishable at 90%
44West Virginia2.8%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
45New York2.7%± 0.2%Not distinguishable at 90%
45Oregon2.7%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
47Connecticut2.6%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
47Vermont2.6%± 0.9%Not distinguishable at 90%
49New Hampshire2.3%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
50Massachusetts2.1%± 0.4%Not distinguishable at 90%
Ref.District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states2.7%± 1.3%Reference jurisdiction
Ref.Puerto RicoNot ranked among states2.5%± 0.5%Reference jurisdiction

50 states plus 2 reference rows.

What this ranking measures

Children under 19 without health insurance in the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

This uses a different age cutoff from the under-18 child poverty measure. It does not measure quality of care.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is 11.5 percentage points. The U.S. benchmark is 6.0%. It is not a simple average of the states.

19 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 30 below it, with 1 equal to it. These counts do not establish statistical significance.

How much should you read into a rank?

Each estimate has a 90% margin of error published by the Census Bureau. For two different states, we flag a difference only when its absolute size exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error. The comparison tool applies this check to every selected pair.

Non-significance is not proof of equality. These pairwise tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons and do not form ranking confidence intervals. Statistical method and limitations.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

Read the ranking methodology.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer
U.S. Census Bureau
Product / file
ACS 1-year · GCT2702
Period
2024
Unit
Percent
Calculation
Published estimate; no transformation of the value. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage
The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence
Annual. 2025 ACS 1-year estimates scheduled for October 29, 2026 (Census ACS updates page); adoption follows editorial review.
Independence
Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

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Download the default full table (CSV) or use the download above for the table’s current filter and order. Data dictionary and source metadata

Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

Related rankings

State distributions: each mark is one state, from lowest to highest. Each row uses its own scale.

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