The Growing Number of Kids in Severely Distressed Neighborhoods: Evidence from the 2000 Census

William O'Hare
The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Mark Mather
The Population Reference Bureau

Citation: O'Hare, William and Mark Mather. “The Growing Number of Kids in Distressed Neighborhoods: Evidence from the 2000 Census.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Population Reference Bureau (2003). Republished in Children, Youth and Environments 13(2), 2003. Retrieved [date] from http://colorado.edu/journals/cye

Executive Summary

Between 1990 and 2000, there was a decrease in the number of children living in high poverty neighborhoods, but the picture provided by the decrease in poverty levels alone is incomplete and potentially misleading. Using a more comprehensive measure of neighborhood quality, we found that the number of children living in severely distressed neighborhoods increased significantly between 1990 and 2000.

Severely distressed neighborhoods are defined here as census tracts with at least three of the four following characteristics:

1. High poverty rate (27.4 percent or more);

2. High percentage of female-headed families (37.1 percent or more);

3. High percentage of high school dropouts (23.0 percent or more); and

4. High percentage of working-age males unattached to the labor force (34.0 percent or more).

Despite the booming economy of the 1990s, the number of children living in severely distressed neighborhoods increased from 4.7 million in 1990 to 5.6 million in 2000 (an 18 percent change). The number of adults living in such neighborhoods also increased, from 10.4 million to 12.5 million (20 percent) during the 1990s.

Of the 5.6 million children growing up in severely distressed neighborhoods, 55 percent are black and 29 percent are Hispanic. Over a quarter of all black children (28 percent) live in severely distressed neighborhoods, and more than one in 10 Hispanic children (13 percent) live in severely distressed neighborhoods, compared with 1 percent of non-Hispanic white children.

The increase in children living in severely distressed neighborhoods during the 1990s is a cause for concern because neighborhoods influence many important outcomes for children. The high concentration of black and Hispanic children in disadvantaged neighborhoods indicates that a significant segment of our most vulnerable children are not likely to get the kinds of supports they need to thrive