Most at risk youth

WalletHub - With 13% of young Americans neither working nor in school, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Most At-Risk Youth in 2026, to identify the places where more effort is needed to help young adults succeed. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 15 key indicators of youth risk. The data set ranges from the share of disconnected youth to the labor force participation rate among young adults to the youth poverty rate.
 

States with the Most At-Risk Youth

States with the Least At-Risk Youth

 

1. Louisiana	42. Minnesota
2. Arkansas	43. Nebraska
3. Oklahoma	44. Iowa
4. New Mexico	45. North Dakota
5. West Virginia	46. Hawaii
6. Oregon	47. Utah
7. Nevada	48. New Hampshire
8. Mississippi	49. Connecticut
9. District of Columbia	50. Massachusetts
10. Alabama	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.
   
• Arkansas has the highest share of overweight or obese youth, which is 1.7 times higher than in Massachusetts, the lowest.
   
• Maine has the highest share of youth using drugs in the past month, which is 2.7 times higher than in Alabama, the lowest.
   
• Oregon has the highest share of homeless youth, which is 29.5 times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest.

 To view the full report and your state’s rank