Best and worst states for young Americans

WalletHub -  With 13% of young Americans neither working nor in school, exposing them to greater risk of poverty and violence, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025's States with the Most At-Risk Youth....

The data set ranges from the share of disconnected youth to the labor force participation rate among youth to the youth poverty rate.
 

States with the Most At-Risk Youth	States with the Least At-Risk Youth
1. Louisiana	42. Iowa
2. Oklahoma	43. North Carolina
3. New Mexico	44. North Dakota
4. South Dakota	45. Maryland
5. Arkansas	46. Utah
6. District of Columbia	47. Nebraska
7. Mississippi	48. Connecticut
8. West Virginia	49. Minnesota
9. Nevada	50. New Hampshire
10. Alaska	51. New Jersey

Key Stats

• Louisiana, Mississippi and Nevada have the highest share of disconnected youth, which is 2.9 times higher than in New Hampshire, the lowest.
   
• New Mexico has the highest share of youth without a high school diploma, which is two times higher than in Hawaii, the lowest.
   
• Alabama has the highest share of overweight or obese youth, which is 1.5 times higher than in Colorado, the lowest.
   
• Vermont has the highest share of youth using drugs in the past month, which is 2.5 times higher than in Utah, the lowest.
   
• The District of Columbia has the highest share of homeless youth, which is 34 times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest.

To view the full report and your state’s rank