S.C. gets slightly better in child well-being, now ranked 38th in U.S.

[UPDATED} South Carolina slightly improved in an annual ranking of overall child well-being, according to the 2025 KIDS COUNT data book, a 50-state report of data on children that will be released Monday.

Last year, the Palmetto State ranked 40th nationally. It is now ranked 38th.

“We celebrate these small victories. More families have steady income, and more children are not struggling with obesity,” said Sue Williams, CEO of Children’s Trust of South Carolina, in a press release.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private nonprofit organization based in Maryland, works with the Children’s Trust to give in-depth information annually related to the well-being of children across the state.

The good: Less obesity, more employment

The percentage of children in S.C. who are overweight or obese went down significantly, from 39% in 2021 to 34% in 2023. Children’s parents who lacked secure employment decreased from 28% in 2022 to 27% in 2023.

Reducing childhood obesity and its health risks are huge wins for the state, said Demetrius Abshire, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing.

“It’s important to ensure children are on a weight trajectory that promotes optimal health,” Abshire said. “It’s very important in terms of ensuring the long-term health of children and their ability to do well in school.”

Abshire speculated that the obesity rates lowered, possibly because of students going back to their regular routines after the COVID pandemic. He said he believed the pandemic disrupted kids’ routines and may have led to increased obesity rates.

The not-so-good: housing, health, poverty

Not everything is improving. Children’s advocates say there is still a concerning number of children living in single-family homes, which is at 37%, among other issues.

“We cannot lose sight of the fact that as a state, we continue to stagnate on critical measures for economic well-being, education, health and community,” Williams said.

Health and poverty indicators are especially concerning:

Health insurance: The percentage of children in South Carolina without health insurance increased from 4% in 2022 to 5% in 2023.

Poverty: The percentage of children living in poverty has gone down across the country over the past decade, but South Carolina still has a higher rate than the national average. In S.C., 19% of children lived in poverty in 2023, compared to the nation’s 16%.

“With too many children lacking health insurance and too many living in areas of concentrated poverty, children and their families are vulnerable in our state,” Williams said. “We want every child in South Carolina to thrive, and this means they have a safe and stable place to sleep at night, a community with enough resources to help support them when they need help and access to a doctor for regular check-ups and when they get sick.”

According to the Children’s Trust, Charleston County improved with the rest of the state, but at a more dramatic pace, jumping up quite a bit in its rank among other counties. In 2021, it ranked 13th in child well-being, and it is now ranked 7th, according to the trust’s profile of child well-being. York County is ranked at the top of the list, while Lexington and Pickens country follow at second and third.

In Charleston County, among areas of improvement are economic well-being, education and family and community. Children experiencing food insecurity and infant mortality have worsened.

The challenge ahead

To continue to improve the state’s ranking on child well-being, there needs to be a lot more resources and programs available for families, said Sarah Knox, senior director of policy and advocacy at Children’s Trust of South Carolina.

“Whatever the ranking, we see an opportunity for prevention programs and investments from the state and federal governments,” Knox said in an interview. “That’s what we believe, that’s what we would call for, is for there to be more prevention efforts in the state.”

Prevention programs include its network of family resource centers—community places where families can access support services and information such as parenting classes, job training, school support, childcare and more.

One goal stays in the mind of Knox, who has remained dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect: Always strive to be greater.

“We want to be better than what we were,” she said. “You know, 10 years from now, I want to be better than where we are today.”

READ THE REPORT: Here’s a link to the full KIDS COUNT report.