The “Snapshot” on Texas children is from the most recently available figures in the annual “Texas Kids Count,” a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S., funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (www.forabettertexas.org/kidscount.html). (The Center for Public Policy Priorities is the home of the Texas Kids Count Project.) All the other statistical briefs are selected from “Texas on the Brink,” a biennial report produced by the Texas Legislative Study Group (www.texaslsg.org), a state House caucus. (In state rankings, 51st is lowest, 1st is highest.) The 2013 report is the most recent available.
A Snapshot of Conditions for Texas Children (2013)
Children in Poverty: 25% (1.7 million; up from 2009, 24.3%)
Parent Unemployment Rate: 5% (251,000 Texans; down from 2009, 6%)
Children Without Health Insurance: 13% (888,000, down from 2009, 16%)
Children Living In Food-Insecure Households: 27.4% (1.9 million, up from 25.6%)
Economically Disadvantaged Students: 60.3% (3.1 million, up from 58.9%)
Poverty
% of population living below federal poverty line: 8th
% of population with food insecurity: 3rd
Avg. monthly women, infants, & children benefits per person: 51st
State Health Care
% of population uninsured: 1st
% of non-elderly uninsured: 1st
% of low-income population covered by Medicaid: tied 48th
% of population with employer-based health insurance: tied 43rd
Health care expenditures per capita: 46th
Medicaid payments per enrollee: 41st
Women’s Health care
Birth rate: 3rd
Teenage birth rate: 4th
% of women giving birth pre-term: 11th
% of non-elderly women with health insurance: 51st
% of women visiting dentist, previous year: 47th
% of women receiving prenatal care, first trimester: 50th
Percentage of women living in poverty: 4th
State Taxes
Revenue collections per capita: Tied for 45th
Expenditures per capita: 48th
Sales tax collections per capita: 18th
Education
Average salary of public school teachers: 31st
Public school spending, per student: 43rd
Avg. SAT combined scores: 47th
Est. public high school graduation rate: 44th
% of population graduated from high school: 50th
Environment
Carbon dioxide emissions: 1st
Hazardous waste generated: 1st
Toxic releases into water: 4th
Carcinogens released into air: 4th
Carcinogens released into water: 5th
Industrial toxic air pollution: 10th
Public safety
Number of executions: 1st
Rate of incarceration: 4th
Violent crime rate: 16th
Property crime rate: 2nd
Democracy
Voter registration %, voting-age population: 47th
Turnout %, voting-age population: 51st
This article appears in March 20 • 2015.