Children Left Behind by the Child Tax Credit in 2022: By State and Congressional District
The Child Tax Credit is the largest direct federal expenditure specifically for children. As of 2022, however, 26% of children—totaling 18 million children nationwide—were excluded from the full credit because their family incomes were too low to qualify. This disproportionately excluded children, young children, children in single parent families, children in larger families, children in rural areas, and more. This data extends our prior national analysis and identifies the estimated share of children left out of the full federal Child Tax Credit in 2022 by state and Congressional district.
The five states with the highest levels of children estimated to be ineligible for the full Child Tax Credit in 2022 because their family income was too low are: Mississippi (38.6%), West Virginia (37.2%), Louisiana (36.9%), New Mexico (36.5%), and Arkansas (36.0 %). The ten congressional districts with the highest levels of children left behind by the Child Tax Credit in 2022 include: NY-15 (54.7%), TX-34 (52.0%), TX-29 (48.9%), KY-5 (48.4%), NY-13 (48.2%), MI-13 (47.9%), MS-2 (47.9%), AL-7 (46.4%), PA-2 (46.4%), CA-40 (45.7%)
Suggested Citation:
Center on Poverty and Social Policy. 2024. Children left behind by the Child Tax Credit in 2022: by state and congressional district.