The State of America’s Children® 2021
Moments
Moments in America for Children by Race/Ethnicity
| Number of Children Percent of the Child Population |
All Children 73,039,150 100% |
White 36,682,894 50.2% |
Hispanic 18,687,565 25.6% |
Black 10,007,157 13.7%% |
Asian/Pacific Islander 3,831,129 5.2% |
American Indian/Alaska Native 615,950 <1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A public school student is suspended* | Every 2 seconds | Every 6 sec | Every 9 sec | Every 4 sec | Every 2 min and 19 sec | Every 2 min |
| Conditions lead a high school student to drop out* | Every 9 seconds | Every 19 sec | Every 28 sec | Every 53 sec | n/a | n/a |
| A child is arrested | Every 45 seconds | Every min and 12 sec | n/a | Every 2 min and 15 sec | Every 54 min | Every 33 min |
| A child is confirmed abused or neglected | Every 48 seconds | Every 2 min | Every 3 min and 30 sec | Every 4 min | Every 1 hr and 7 min | Every 58 min |
| A public school student is corporally punished* | Every 49 seconds | Every 2 min | Every 11 min | Every 2 min | Every 6 hrs and 38 min | Every 46 min |
| A baby is born into poverty | Every 1 minute | Every 3 min | Every 2 min and 15 sec | Every 5 min | Every 37 minutes | Every 9 hrs and 38 min |
| A baby is born without health insurance | Every 2 minutes | Every 4 min | Every 8 min and 25 sec | Every 19 min | Every 37 min | Every 2 hr and 39 min |
| A baby is born into extreme poverty | Every 2 minutes | Every 5 min | Every 5 min | Every 10 min | Every 1 hr and 15 min | n/a |
| A baby is born at low birthweight | Every 2 minutes | Every 4 min | Every 8 min | Every 7 min | n/a | n/a |
| A child is arrested for a drug offense | Every 6.5 minutes | Every 9 min | n/a | Every 30 min | Every 7 hrs | Every 5 hrs |
| A child is arrested for a violent offense | Every 12 minutes | Every 25 min | n/a | Every 25 min | Every 13 hrs | Every 11 hrs and 23 min |
| A baby dies before their first birthday | Every 25 minutes | Every 59 min | Every 2 hrs | Every 1 hr and 26 min | Every 11 hrs and 15 min | Every 1.5 days |
| A child or teen dies from an accident | Every hour and 11 minutes | Every 2 hrs and 14 min | Every 5 hrs and 30 min | Every 5 hrs and 43 min | Every 2 days | Every 2 days |
| A child or teen is injured with a gun | Every 2 hours and 36 minutes | Every 7 hrs and 35 min | Every 15 hrs and 24 min | Every 6 hrs | Every 5.5 days | Every 8 days |
| A child or teen dies by suicide | Every 3 hours and 11 minutes | Every 5 hrs | Every 18 hrs and 13 min | Every day and 4 hrs | Every 4 days | Every 4 days |
| A child is killed by abuse or neglect | Every 5 hours | Every 13 hrs and 32 min | Every 1.5 days | Every 20 hrs and 19 min | Every 2.5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| A mother dies from complications of childbirth or pregnancy | Every 11 hours and 40 minutes | Every 25 hrs | Every 3.5 days | Every 1.5 days | Every 1.5 weeks | Every 3.5 weeks |
*Based on 180 school days a year
Notes: Where possible, racial categories (White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native) do not include Hispanic children. See Endnotes for citations.