Last Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its latest American Community Survey data, offering a detailed look at the economic and social conditions shaping American families and communities. The survey sheds light on everything from health insurance coverage and poverty to workforce participation and educational attainment. Here’s what the new 2025 data reveal about the well-being of women, kids and families across the country:
#1: Child poverty declined between 2024 and 2025 – but not by much.
In 2025, 14.8% of U.S. children experienced poverty, down from 15.5% in 2024. That’s still more than 10 million kids living in families who struggle to afford the basics.
While any decline in the child poverty rate is good news, it’s important to understand just how low we’ve set the bar for measuring poverty. In 2025, a family of four had to earn less than about $32,000 per year–before taxes–to be considered poor in America. In many communities, this amount wouldn’t even cover a year of childcare for two kids, let alone housing, food and transportation. Small declines like the ones we witnessed between 2024 and 2025 aren’t enough, and being above the poverty line doesn't necessarily mean a family has the resources it needs to thrive.
#2: Most young kids live in families where all resident parents are in the labor force (either working or looking for work).
Although the American Community Survey doesn’t ask families directly about their childcare needs, data on workforce participation among parents can tell us a lot about the potential need for childcare among U.S. families. The most recent survey found that 70% of kids under 6 live in families where all available parents are in the labor force–the highest rate in more than a decade.
With all parents in the household working or looking for work, many of these nearly 15 million children will need to be cared for by someone besides a parent during the day. As the cost of necessities keeps rising, families face a difficult balancing act: more families need two incomes to make ends meet, but the childcare they need to work is out of reach for many. We know from other sources that childcare costs continue to climb beyond what many families can afford, while hundreds of thousands of kids sit on waitlists for childcare assistance. Families need more support to access and afford childcare, whether that care is provided by a grandparent, a childcare center or a preschool program.
#3: More than 4 million U.S. children (6% of all kids) don’t have health insurance.
In some states – Texas, Alaska, Montana, Arizona, and Oklahoma – the uninsured rate for kids exceeds 10%, while a handful of New England states have rates below 2%.
Kids living in families with incomes between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level (between about $32,000 and $65,000 per year for a family of four) have the highest uninsured rate at nearly 9%. Most kids in this income bracket qualify for public coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), indicating that public programs aren’t reaching all the kids who need them.
It’s tough to say much about how the uninsured rate changed from 2024 to 2025, because the Census Bureau made changes to the way the health insurance question was asked. But this data point will be an important one to keep an eye on in future years as the impacts of historic Medicaid cuts ripple across the country.
#4: Full-time earnings for women grew in 2025 – but so did the wage gap, with real implications for kids.
The median annual earnings for women working full-time, year-round rose slightly to $57,690 in 2025, an increase of about $500 from 2024 after accounting for inflation. But men’s earnings increased by more than $1,500, widening the long-standing gap between women and men.
Social policies related to paid family leave, affordable childcare and workplace flexibility can influence women’s economic opportunities and contribute to differences in earnings between women and men. These disparities only intensify once parenthood enters the picture. And policies that limit women’s economic opportunity have real consequences for children, especially those living in households headed by a single mother. The new ACS data show that more than a third of kids in families headed by single mothers (35%) experienced poverty in 2025 – more than twice the rate for kids in single-father families. Economic challenges are especially pronounced for single mothers with very young children – likely reflecting, in part, the high cost and limited availability of childcare. In 2025, 42% of kids under 5 in households headed by single mothers experienced poverty.
Understanding these numbers is just the beginning.
Data like these help us understand the conditions shaping the lives of women, children and families. But knowing what the numbers say at the national level is only the beginning. Understanding what's driving these trends, how they vary from place to place, where gaps exist, and what opportunities there are to make things better is where meaningful change begins.
Bloom Research and Strategy helps organizations do just that: understand community needs, make sense of data, and identify opportunities to improve outcomes for children and families. Through research, analysis and strategic thinking, we help turn information into a clearer picture of what's happening and a path toward what comes next.
If you’re interested in what these numbers look like in your community, send us a note and let’s dive in.
