Idle youth? Not in New Jersey, study finds

👦 WalletHub released its report on where the most at-risk youth reside

👧 The study looked at 15 key indicators of youth risk in all 50 states and D.C.

👦 Where does New Jersey rank?

With 16% of young Americans neither working nor in school, exposing them to greater risk of poverty and violence, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on “2023’s States with the Most-At-Risk Youth.”

WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 15 key indicators of youth risk, with the data set ranging from the share of disconnected youth to the labor force participation rate among youth to the youth poverty rate, said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez.

How did New Jersey do?

New Jersey ranked well. Keep in mind, this is a list where being number one is not flattering because that would mean the state with the most at-risk youth, Gonzalez said.

The Garden State ranked 49th on the list. That means it is the state with the third least disconnected youth in the nation, she said.

In what categories did New Jersey rank well?

“New Jersey has the second lowest youth poverty rate in the country. I think that stems from a better public education system, as well. We’re seeing that youth have a good foundation to then go and get well-paying jobs later on,” Gonzalez said.

New Jersey also did very well when it comes to health for youth. Gonzalez said there is a low share of overweight and obese youth, a low share of youth reporting heavy drinking and depression.

The state also did well when it came to its share of youth with no high school diploma. It ranked 41st, so education played a pretty big role in this study, she added.

Where could New Jersey use improvement?

In terms of the youth labor force participation rate, New Jersey is the fifth lowest. That’s an area where it could see some improvement.

“Even though we’re seeing that poverty rates are low, the youth labor force participation rate is not necessarily matching up with that. So, that was a point of interest here,” Gonzalez said.

The youth labor force participation rate refers to the population between ages 16 to 24 who are actively trying to get a job or already have a job, she explained. That number could be higher in New Jersey, she said.

“Even if children aren’t working though, they’re not necessarily disconnected. Even if they’re not working, they’re typically attending school or have a degree beyond a high school diploma,” Gonzalez said.

Where are the most and least at-risk youth?

The state with the most at-risk youth is Louisiana. Mississippi is the second worst, followed by West Virginia, Alaska, and New Mexico.

Massachusetts is the state with the least amount of at-risk youth, followed by New Hampshire, New Jersey, Utah, and Virginia.

As far as New Jersey’s neighbors, New York ranked middle of the pack, coming in at 35th on the list. Pennsylvania was more in line with the Garden State, ranking 40th overall.

For a full report, please visit here.

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