Children Left Behind by the Child Tax Credit: By State and Congressional District in the 119th Congress

Children Left Behind by the Child Tax Credit: By State and Congressional District in the 119th Congress

The Child Tax Credit is the largest direct federal expenditure specifically for children. The latest available data, however, shows that 25% of children – totalling 17 million children nationwide – are 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 analysis uses the latest available data from the American Community Survey to estimate the share and number of children left out of the full federal Child Tax Credit by state and Congressional district in the 119th Congress.

Access the Data

The five states with the highest share of children estimated to be ineligible for the full Child Tax Credit because their family income was too low are: Mississippi (37.8%), Louisiana (35.7%), New Mexico (33.1%), Alabama (32.6%), and West Virginia (32.1%). The five Congressional districts in the 119th Congress with the highest share of children left behind by the Child Tax Credit include: NY-15 (54.6%), TX-34 (51.4%), MS-2 (47.4%), MI-13 (46.3%), and KY-5 (46%).

The five states with the highest number of children estimated to be ineligible for the full Child Tax Credit because their family income was too low are: Texas (2.1 million), California (2 million), Florida (1.1 million), New York (1 million), and Georgia (680,000). The five Congressional districts in the 119th Congress with the highest number of children left behind by the Child Tax Credit include: TX-34 (109,000), NY-15 (91,000), TX-29 (88,000), CA-22 (88,000), and TX-15 (87,000).  

Suggested Citation:

Center on Poverty and Social Policy. 2025. Children left behind by the Child Tax Credit: by state and congressional district in the 119th Congress.

Published on February 06, 2025

Note: This is an update to our prior analysis estimating the share of children ineligible for the full Child Tax Credit by state and congressional district in the 118th Congress.