(Deming) – Luna is among the state’s worst counties in many categories of the just-released annual Kids Count survey by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Luna County tops the state in children under age 18 living in poverty at 51%, and in the percentage of adults over age 16 lacking basic prose literacy at 33%.
The survey shows Luna County’s median family income, which includes income of all household members age 15 or older, at $36,199 – which is $2,072 above last year’s median family income. We are second-from-the-bottom in the state to Guadalupe County, which has a median family income of $35,341.
And the percentage of Luna County’s population living in poverty is 29% -- third in the state behind Guadalupe County at 32% and McKinley County at 31%.
The survey shows the rate of children living in poverty across the nation increased to 23% in 2011. The Southwest has been hit particularly hard.
New Mexico, for the first time, has slipped to worst in the nation when it comes to child well-being. New Mexico is followed in the rankings by Mississippi, Nevada and Arizona.
Overall, the report shows there have been gains in education and health nationally, but since 2005, there have been serious setbacks when it comes to the economic well-being of children.
Luna County tops the state in children under age 18 living in poverty at 51%, and in the percentage of adults over age 16 lacking basic prose literacy at 33%.
The survey shows Luna County’s median family income, which includes income of all household members age 15 or older, at $36,199 – which is $2,072 above last year’s median family income. We are second-from-the-bottom in the state to Guadalupe County, which has a median family income of $35,341.
And the percentage of Luna County’s population living in poverty is 29% -- third in the state behind Guadalupe County at 32% and McKinley County at 31%.
The survey shows the rate of children living in poverty across the nation increased to 23% in 2011. The Southwest has been hit particularly hard.
New Mexico, for the first time, has slipped to worst in the nation when it comes to child well-being. New Mexico is followed in the rankings by Mississippi, Nevada and Arizona.
Overall, the report shows there have been gains in education and health nationally, but since 2005, there have been serious setbacks when it comes to the economic well-being of children.
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