Growing up is hard, and without a stable home, positive role models and enough financial and educational resources, many young Americans fall behind their peers and experience a rocky transition to adulthood. A new WalletHub study ranks the states where youth face the greatest risks, based on 15 key indicators ranging from disconnected young adults to poverty rates and health challenges.
Louisiana tops the list as the state with the most at-risk youth, followed by Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and West Virginia. New Jersey ranks as the least at-risk, with Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Utah also performing well.
The ranking examines education and employment factors that carry the heaviest weight, along with health metrics. Disconnected youth, defined as those ages 18 to 24 who are not in school, not working and lack a degree beyond high school, form a central measure. Other factors include the share of young people without a high school diploma, youth poverty rates, teen pregnancy rates, proficiency on national math and reading tests, labor force participation, and health indicators such as obesity, drug use, depression and physical or mental limitations.
“A high share of youth who are not working, not getting education and generally stagnating in life can spell trouble for the future,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst. “States that are most impacted by this problem, as well as related issues like high youth poverty rates, widespread drug use and low test scores, need a wake-up call to invest more into improving conditions for young residents. Otherwise, the future economic and social progress of the state is in danger.”
Southern and some Western states dominate the higher-risk end of the list. These areas often show elevated rates of young adults disconnected from school and work, lower educational attainment, and greater health challenges. In contrast, several Northeastern and Midwestern states demonstrate stronger outcomes across both education-employment and health categories.
The study grades each metric on a 100-point scale, with higher scores indicating greater risk, then calculates weighted averages to produce overall rankings for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Education and employment metrics account for 60 points of the total, while health metrics make up the remaining 40.
For policymakers, the findings underscore the need for targeted support in areas such as education access, job training, health services and programs for foster youth or those facing homelessness. “Better outcomes for at-risk youth can lead to better long-term economic and social outcomes for entire communities.
The ranking provides a timely snapshot of where more attention and resources could have the biggest impact on the next generation of adults, as the data reveal clear geographic trends.
