It’s good to be a teenager in New Jersey

👦 WalletHub released its "Most At-Risk Youth States in 2024"

👧 They compared all 50 states and D.C. across 15 key metrics

👦 Where does New Jersey rank?

Comparing all 50 states and Washington D.C. across 15 indicators of youth risk, the personal finance website, WalletHub has released its list of “States with the Most At-Risk Youth in 2024.”

To come up with their findings, WalletHub compared all the states and D.C. across metrics in two key categories: Education and Employment and Health, said analyst Cassandra Happe. They looked at a variety of metrics including the share of disconnected youth, the rates of teen pregnancies, the youth poverty rate, and the share of overweight and obese youth in each state, to name a few.

Where does New Jersey rank?

New Jersey is proud to rank 51st on this list. Dead last. Since the report ranks each state from most to least, that means that the Garden State has the least at-risk youth in the nation.

The Credits

New Jersey ranked very well across some very key metrics.

The state has the 2nd lowest youth poverty rate in the nation, Happe said. It also has the 6th lowest rate of teen pregnancy. “That really shows that the youth in that state are making smart decisions,” she said.

New Jersey also does well when it comes to the share of youth with depression. The state ranks 49th overall in that particular metric, showing one of the lowest shares of youth suffering from depression, Happe said.

When it comes to the share of disconnected youth, New Jersey comes in 39th overall. It’s still in the bottom half of the nation, which is great, Happe said.

When it comes to the share of overweight and obese youth, New Jersey ranks 44th overall, the bottom 25%, which is also positive, she added.

In the education and employment category that determined most at-risk youth in the nation, New Jersey ranks 49th (third lowest), due largely to the low youth poverty rate, the low teen pregnancy rate, and the low share of disconnected youth, Happe explained.

“When it came to the health category, New Jersey came in 47th overall in that category, and that was due, in large part to that share of overweight and obese youth, coming in 44th overall in that particular metric, as well as that share of youth with depression, and the share of physically, mentally and emotionally inhibited youth, was another metric they did really well on in that category. They came in 46th overall in that metric,” Happe said.

Improvements

As with any survey, there’s always a category or two a state can use improvements. With this particular survey, New Jersey could do better when it comes to the labor force participation rate among youth. New Jersey ranks 8th overall in this metric, but this may not necessarily be a bad thing, Happe said.

It could be that youth in New Jersey are more focused on their educational pursuits, and not necessarily taking on part-time jobs that are common with high school students, Happe said.

But, she says, it still would be better for New Jersey to have more opportunities for the youth if they are interested in pursuing part-time employment while still going to school.

While New Jersey is the least at-risk youth state in the nation, New Hampshire is the second least at-risk youth state, ranking in 50th place, followed by Illinois, Iowa, and Virginia.

The state with the most at-risk youth, and ranking at the top of the list is Louisiana, according to Wallethub. New Mexico is the second most at-risk youth state, followed by West Virginia, Alaska, and Arkansas.

For the full report, please visit here.

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