First, whether families report worries about having enough money to buy food, and second, whether they report difficulties in paying their mortgage, rent, or utility bills. Our next chart shows that thirty-two percent of children in America live in families that worried about or experienced difficulty affording food during the year. The snap shots also show the variability in food affordability across the states. But states with the highest poverty rates do not necessarily report the greatest difficulties in paying for food. For example, the likelihood that families in Mississippi report difficulties in affording food is similar to that for families in California and Texas.
Fewer families report problems affording housing than they report worries about food.
The next chart shows that sixteen percent of all parents reported problems paying for housing costs during the preceding 12 months. The snapshot shows the variability across states. Low income families report significantly more difficulties in affording housing in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Texas, but less difficulty in Colorado. These statistics of poverty, employment, and financial hardship provide a basic backdrop for examining other family outcomes. The data show that families live in very different economic circumstances across the states.