Warren County Ranks among Top 10 for Economic Well‐Being, Health, Safety and Education 

Warren County ranked fifth for child health among all 21 counties—its highest ranking out of four areas
of child well‐being, according to the annual New Jersey Kids Count county rankings and profiles released
today.

View County Profiles and Ranking

View pocket guide, New Jersey Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Counties

(county-by-county trend data on 40 indicators of child health and well-being)

As New Jersey elects a new governor and legislature this fall, ACNJ encourages voters to use the data proactively and engage with candidates to make kids' issues a part of the conversation. To learn more about the #NJVotes4Kids campaign, please visit njvotes4kids.org.

The rankings, which compare counties on 12 measures of child well‐being, and across four domains –
economics, health, safety and well‐being, and education – provide a closer look at how children are
faring in various parts of the state, often revealing a range of outcomes depending on where they live.
The pocket guide, NJ Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Counties provides county‐by‐county child trend
data across 40 measures of child well‐being.

“Fewer Warren children live in families struggling to make ends meet, but more than 45 percent of
households spend too much on rent. The county can do better in increasing participation in the federal
school breakfast program, a valuable resource to help low‐income students start the day ready to
learn,” said Cecilia Zalkind, president and CEO of Advocates for Children New Jersey, which produces the
state Kids Count reports.

“From increasing lead testing for young children to addressing child hunger with school breakfast,
community leaders can use the data to recognize areas of concern and target resources to improve the
lives of children in their county.”

Warren County Ranks:
Eighth in Child and Family Economics: For the 22,000 children that call Warren County home, 12
percent live in poverty, less than the state average of 16 percent. Unemployment is 4.6 percent,
compared to New Jersey’s 5 percent. Forty‐seven percent of Warren County households have high rent
burdens, meaning rent consumes 30 percent or more of their incomes.

Fifth in Child Health: Only 14 percent of children under age 6 gets a blood lead test on a given year; that
puts the county 13th overall on this measure. One of New Jersey’s biggest success stories is the low rates
of uninsured children across all counties. In Warren County, 2.3 percent of children were uninsured,
well below the state average of 3.7 percent.

Eighth in Safety and Well‐Being: The percentage of teens not in school and not working, sometimes
referred to as idle or disconnected youth, is 6 percent, in line with the state’s average. In addition, 11.1
percent of reported cases of child abuse or neglect were substantiated in 2015, up from 9.6 in 2011.
Warren County also saw a decrease in juvenile arrest rates from 12.5 in 2011 to 7.9 in 2015.

Sixth in Education: At 94 percent, Warren County boasts graduation rates higher than the state’s 90
percent. Thirty‐seven percent of low‐income Warren County students start the day with school
breakfast, placing the county 15th on this indicator. Eight percent of Warren students are chronically
absent, missing 10 percent or more of enrolled school days, compared to 10 percent of students
statewide.

In addition to the county rankings, Advocates for Children of New Jersey also released New Jersey Kids
Count 2017: The State of Our Children, in May, which provides state‐level data in all areas of child well‐
being.

To read the reports, visit www.acnj.org
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KIDS COUNT is a national and state‐by‐state statistical effort to track the state of children in the United
States, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Advocates for Children of New Jersey is a statewide
child research and action organization and the New Jersey Kids Count grantee.