NJ Kids Count Rankings: Cape May Shows Room for Improvement in Child Well‐Being 

Cape May County received its highest ranking – 12th – in education, but placed last in the area of safety
and well‐being among all 21 counties, 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)

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.

“The good news is that fewer children in Cape May are born with low birthweights and more than half of
low‐income students start the day with school breakfast. However, Cape May County has the highest
percentage of residents struggling to find work at 9.8 percent,” said Cecilia Zalkind, president and CEO of
Advocates for Children New Jersey, which produces the state Kids Count reports.

“From curbing chronic absenteeism to increasing lead testing for young children, community leaders can
use the data to recognize areas of concern and target resources to improve the lives of children in their
county.”

Cape May County Ranks:
17th in Child and Family Economics: Despite a decrease in unemployment from 15.5 percent in 2012 to
9.8 percent in 2016, Cape May’ unemployment rate is nearly double the state average. In addition, 55
percent of households pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, surpassing the state
average of 50 percent.

15th in Child Health: Cape May received its highest mark, ranking fourth, in the percentage of babies
born with low birthweights at 6.5 percent; the state average is 8.1 percent. But there is room for
improvement in the number of children tested for lead and the percentage of uninsured children. While
overall more than a quarter of New Jersey children under age 6 received a blood lead test in 2015, Cape
May’s testing rate was 12.8 percent, ranking 16th on this indicator. Cape May also ranked 17th in the
percentage of children without health insurance – 4.1 percent compared to the New Jersey average of
3.7.

21st in Safety and Well‐Being: Cape May came in last in all three indicators of safety and well‐being: idle
teens, juvenile arrests and substantiated or established cases of reported child abuse or neglect. Eleven
percent of Cape May teens are not in school and not working, compared to the state average of 6
percent. Despite a drop in juvenile arrest rates from roughly 40.1 arrests per 1,000 in 2011 to 30.3 in
2015, Cape May’s arrest rate is still nearly three times higher than the state average. The county also
saw an uptick in the percentage of substantiated or established cases of abuse or neglect at 16.3
percent in 2015 compared to 12.8 in 2011; the 2015 state average is 10.5 percent.

12th in Education: Cape May’s graduation rate of 88 percent is slightly below the state average of 90
percent. And roughly 12 percent of students are chronically absent – missing 10 percent or more school
days, placing Cape May 14th on this indicator. The good news is that 52 percent of eligible Cape May
County students start the day with school breakfast, slightly about the state average of 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.