The Happy Child Index: Best States for Happy & Healthy Kids
VocoVision has released the Happy Child Index, which ranks all 50 states on ten factors that impact children’s mental and physical health. The analysis found that Connecticut (1), Massachusetts (2), and New York (3) are the states with the happiest and healthiest child populations, while Mississippi (50) and South Carolina (49) have the least.
The Happy Child Index was commissioned to better understand the disparities in mental and physical health support for children in communities and schools nationwide. VocoVision worked with child health professionals to consider a wider range of factors that impact children’s mental and physical health. The ten categories that were used in the Happy Child Index to rank each state include:
- Access to neighborhood libraries
- Child sleep quality
- Access to mental healthcare providers and counselors for children
- Mental health provider to population ratio
- Youth suicide rate
- Disconnected youth rate
- Access to parks and recreation facilities, such as a YMCA
- Access to healthy foods
- Level of difficulty children experience when making friends
- Air pollution
The top-ranking states best meet the mental health needs of the child population, for example, by providing emotional support and sufficient access to exercise opportunities so that children can engage in good mental health practices.
The Happiest & Healthiest States for Children
Connecticut (1), the overall happiest and healthiest state for children, has the fifth highest rate of children living in neighborhoods with a library, the fifth lowest youth suicide rate, the sixth best access to parks and recreation facilities, and the seventh best mental health provider per population ratio.
Coming in last, Mississippi (50) children have the second worst access to healthy foods, access to parks and recreation facilities, and access to libraries. The state also has the second lowest percentage of children receiving the recommended age-appropriate hours of sleep and the seventh highest disconnected youth rate.
Ordered from best to worst, here are how the states rank for child health and happiness:
| Ranking | State | Happy Child Index Score (100 Total Possible Points) |
| 1 | Connecticut | 78.05 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 77.78 |
| 3 | New York | 76.90 |
| 4 | Maryland | 74.40 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 72.23 |
| 6 | Illinois | 71.79 |
| 7 | Utah | 71.72 |
| 8 | New Jersey | 71.52 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 71.10 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 69.40 |
| 11 | California | 69.23 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 69.00 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | 68.43 |
| 14 | Ohio | 67.82 |
| 15 | Colorado | 67.04 |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | 66.80 |
| 17 | Vermont | 65.51 |
| 18 | Hawaii | 65.33 |
| 19 | Michigan | 64.39 |
| 20 | Virginia | 64.11 |
| 21 | Delaware | 63.18 |
| 22 | Maine | 61.65 |
| 23 | Wyoming | 61.50 |
| 24 | South Dakota | 61.25 |
| 25 | Iowa | 58.62 |
| 26 | Oregon | 58.13 |
| 27 | Washington | 57.78 |
| 28 | North Dakota | 57.33 |
| 29 | Kansas | 57.19 |
| 30 | North Carolina | 54.97 |
| 31 | Florida | 53.84 |
| 32 | Kentucky | 52.46 |
| 33 | Montana | 52.22 |
| 34 | Idaho | 51.34 |
| 35 | Missouri | 51.24 |
| 36 | Tennessee | 51.00 |
| 37 | Nevada | 50.30 |
| 38 | Georgia | 49.54 |
| 39 | Indiana | 49.12 |
| 40 | Arizona | 47.99 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | 47.24 |
| 42 | New Mexico | 47.09 |
| 43 | Louisiana | 46.72 |
| 44 | Alaska | 43.11 |
| 45 | Texas | 43.06 |
| 46 | West Virginia | 42.07 |
| 47 | Arkansas | 41.98 |
| 48 | Alabama | 41.34 |
| 49 | South Carolina | 39.56 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 36.90 |
Additional Findings
- Massachusetts (2) has the highest number of mental health providers per population ratio, with one provider for every 145 residents.
- New Jersey (8) has the highest rate of children living in neighborhoods with a library, at 83.9%.
- Children in Utah (7) get the most sleep, with 74.9% of children receiving the recommended age-appropriate hours of sleep each night.
- Louisiana (43) is the easiest state to find mental healthcare treatment or counseling for children in. However, Louisiana has the fourth highest disconnected youth rate in the nation at 10%, and the state has the third worst access to healthy food.
- Alaska (44) has the highest youth suicide rate and disconnected youth rate in the country.
- Children in New York (3) have the best access to healthy foods in the nation. The state also offers the third best access to libraries, the eighth best access to parks, and the fourth lowest youth suicide rate.
Conclusion
The Happy Child Index provides an in-depth analysis of the crucial aspects affecting our children’s daily lives, such as access to quality healthcare, nutritious food, and emotional support networks. By examining these factors, we aspire to spark a nationwide conversation on the importance of understanding and addressing the varying needs of children in different communities. This research will not only serve as a resource for educators, healthcare providers, and parents to take immediate action in the pursuit of creating a healthier and happier future for our children.
At VocoVision, we believe that every child deserves equal access to resources, care, and opportunities to cultivate their overall well-being. We are dedicated to improving the lives of children and families across the country. Teletherapy professionals directly support the mental health of children in communities nationwide – regardless of location. If you’re looking for a career that makes a difference, browse teletherapy jobs with VocoVision today.
Methodology
To most accurately calculate the final ranking, a range of values for each category was established and used to create a scale which each state was distributed against, receiving a value. This adjusted value determined how the state ranked for each category. Each state’s weighed value for all ten categories was added to determine the final ranking. Each category had an equal weight of 10%. The ten categories and data sources utilized in the Happy Child Index include:
- Limited Access to Healthy Foods: Percentage of the population who are low-income and do not live close to a grocery store in 2019. Retrieved from USDA Food Environment Atlas.
- Mental Health Provider Ratio: Ratio of population to mental health providers, retrieved from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Provider Identification Registry.
- Suicide Rate of 15-24 Age Group: The average number of intentional self-harm deaths per 100,000 in the 15-24 age group from 2018-2021, retrieved from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System.
- Disconnected Youth Rate: Percentage of teens and young adults ages 16-19 who are neither working nor in school, therefore at an increased risk of violence, smoking, alcohol consumption and marijuana use, and may have emotional deficits and less cognitive and academic skills than their peers who are working and/or in school, retrieved from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), 5-year estimates.
- Access to Exercise Opportunities: Percentage of population with adequate access to locations for physical activity, such as public parks and exercise facilities, retrieved from Business Analyst, ESRI, YMCA & U.S. Census Tigerline Files.
- Air Pollution: Average daily density of fine particulate matter in micrograms per cubic meter (PM2.5), retrieved from the CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network.
- Access to Friendships: Percentage of respondents choosing “No Difficulty Making or Keeping Friends” in response to the question, “Compared to other children their age, how much difficulty does this child have making or keeping friends, age 6-17 years?” Retrieved from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) data query. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Child Sleep Quality: Percentage of children (age 3-17 years) receiving the recommended age-appropriate hours of sleep each night, retrieved from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) data query. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Access to Neighborhood Libraries: Percentage of children who live in neighborhoods with a library or bookmobile. Retrieved from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) data query. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Access to Mental Healthcare for Children: Percentage of respondents who say getting the mental health treatment or counseling that this child (age 3-17 years) needed was not difficult. Retrieved from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) data query. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
Please note that communities ranking low for access to exercise opportunities due to rural environments were balanced by the air pollution category of an identical weight. This ensured communities with limited access to public exercise facilities due to larger bodies of nature and protected lands were not penalized, as the air quality category balanced the access to exercise facilities. Similarly, in states with high population density, wider access to exercise would be balanced out by higher air pollution. Therefore, states with low air population and high access to exercise were rewarded with the most points.