Mississippi maintained its ranking as the nation’s 16th-best state for K-12 education in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, though the report found the state continues to face significant challenges when it comes to children’s health.
For the first time, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual 50-state report included comprehensive scores ranging from 0 to 1,000 rather than relying solely on rankings. The scores track 16 indicators across four domains – economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors – from 2019 to 2024. According to the foundation, the new system with both scores and rankings intends to give “a more complete picture of child well-being.”
Mississippi’s total score landed at 271, ranking 50th in the nation and 276 points below the national average of 547. The state’s strongest domain was education, where it scored 448 and ranked 16th nationally. Its weakest showing came in health, where it scored 122 and ranked last among all states. Health indicators measured by the report included low-birth-weight babies, children without health insurance, child and teen deaths, and child and teen obesity.
Mississippi also ranked 49th in economic well-being with a score of 252 and 49th in family and community factors with a score of 263.
While Mississippi ranked last overall in the report, child-focused nonprofit Children’s Foundation of Mississippi noted in a news release that the data underlying the new scoring system showed slight improvement in three of the four measured domains: education, economic well-being, and family and community factors.
The state’s No. 16 ranking in education – driven by indicators such as enrollment among young children, reading and math proficiency, and on-time graduation rates – marked its second consecutive year at its highest placement since the KIDS COUNT Data Book was first published in 1990.
Education leaders point to several factors contributing to Mississippi’s continued success in the classroom, including implementation of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, consistent investment in public schools, expanded teacher training in reading instruction, and efforts to strengthen early childhood education programs.
“Across Mississippi, the commitment to early learning opportunities is evident in our expanding public pre-K models: Early Learning Collaboratives and State Invested Pre-K programs,” Mississippi State Superintendent Dr. Lance Evans said in a statement. “These programs are guided by state standards but built within communities.”
During the 2024-25 school year, more than 8,700 children in 50 counties participated in Mississippi’s public prekindergarten programs, according to Evans.
“Along with expanding access to pre-K, our pre-K programs are a national model for quality,” Evans continued. “The National Institute of Early Education Research consistently names Mississippi as one of only six states in the nation that meet all quality standards for pre-K.”
As for the domains where Mississippi received struggling scores, the Children’s Foundation of Mississippi believes data such as nationally worst numbers in low-birth-weight babies and children living in households headed by someone without a high school diploma can be improved through continued statewide collaboration.
“At the Children’s Foundation of Mississippi, we are committed to using data to facilitate conversation, strengthen collaboration, increase program engagement, and guide decisions that best serve children,” Children’s Foundation of Mississippi CEO Dr. Ashley Sheils said. “Equally important is our responsibility to support program providers, nonprofits, state agencies, community members, and all stakeholders working to ensure that children and youth have access to every resource they need.”
Sheils encouraged policymakers, advocates, and community leaders to use the report as a guide for future investments in children and families.
“We encourage all leaders and stakeholders to use this data as a call to action to invest in solutions that prioritize our children and families,” she said.
The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book provides state-by-state data on child well-being and is intended to help leaders identify areas of progress and determine where additional support may be needed. The 2026 edition can be viewed in full here.