Burlington County Ranks 9th in Education, 15th in Child Safety and Well‐Being

Burlington County received its highest ranking – ninth – in education and its lowest ranking – 15th – in
child safety and well‐being, according to the annual New Jersey Kids Count county profiles and pocket
guide 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.

“Some counties have seen encouraging progress, but the reality is that nearly 11,000 Burlington County
children live in families struggling to make ends meet,” 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.”

Burlington County Ranks:
10th in Child and Family Economics: Burlington County’s percentage of children in poverty and
unemployment rate, 12 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively, is better than the state average of 16 and
5 percent. But more than half of Burlington households pay 30 percent or more of their income on the
cost of rent.

13th in Child Health: Burlington has the fifth lowest rate of uninsured children among the 21 counties at
2.1 percent; the state average is 3.7 percent. But there is room for improvement in the area of lead
testing for young children. About 11 percent of all Burlington children under age 6 received a blood lead
test in 2015, ranking 19th on this indicator. Bergen also ranked 11th in the percentage of babies born with
a low birthweight – 8.2 compared to the New Jersey average of 8.1.

15th in Safety and Well‐Being: The rate of Burlington teens not in school and not working mirrors the
state average of 6 percent, placing the county 11th on this indicator. Burlington County saw an uptick in
substantiated or established cases of child abuse or neglect, from 9.5 percent in 2011 to 13.7 in 2015.
Consistent with state trends, the county experienced a drop in juvenile arrest rates from roughly 17.1
arrests per 1,000 in 2011 to 13.3 in 2015.

9th in Education: Burlington ranks eighth for its high school graduation rate – 94 percent compared to
New Jersey’s graduation rate of 90 percent. And 10 percent of students are chronically absent – missing
10 percent or more school days, placing ninth on this indicator. In addition, Burlington ranks 16th for its
participation in school breakfast, with 36 percent of low‐income children starting the day with a
morning meal at school; the state average is 47 percent.

In addition to the county profiles and pocket guide, 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.