Maine’s education system was found to be one of the worst in the nation, according to the 2025 Kids Count Data Book.
This same report also found, however, that Maine’s children have some of the best family and community supports and fare relatively well with respect to their health and economic well-being.
Taken together, Maine children were found to have the 17th best overall well-being in comparison to kids in other states.
The report is published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Baltimore that focuses on “developing a brighter future for millions of children and young people with respect to their educational, economic, social and health outcomes.”
Despite this, academic outcomes for Maine students are poor not only in comparison to other states, but also in relation to Maine children just a few years ago.
Nearly three-quarters of fourth graders are not proficient in reading, and roughly the same share of eighth graders are not proficient in math. These deficiencies are up from 64 percent and 66 percent in 2019 respectively.
This is roughly five to ten points worse than the Northeast average and two to four points worse than the national average.
14 percent of high school students were found to not graduate on time, a figure in line with the national average.
[RELATED: New Report Analyzes the Decades-Long Decline of Maine K-12 Education]
The category in which Maine children fared the best was with respect to family and community.
Just two percent of Maine kids live in high poverty areas, just a fraction of the nine percent Northeast average and 8 percent national average.
Similarly, Maine’s teen birth rate is nearly half that of the national average, coming in at 7 per 1,000.
Maine is also slightly above average in terms of the percentage of single family households (32 percent). With just 4 percent of households being led by someone who lacks a high school diploma, Maine’s share is less than half that of the national average.
Maine was ranked toward the middle of the pack with respect to both children’s health and economic well-being.
Roughly keeping with national and regional averages, eight percent of Maine babies are considered to have a low birth weight, putting them at greater risk of infant death.
Also aligned with national and regional averages are the four percent of children who do not have health insurance.
Reflective of “a broad array of factors,” the number of child and teen deaths in Maine per 1,000 comes in at 24, situated squarely between Northeast and national averages.
The 31 percent of Maine children who are overweight or obese also aligns with regional and national averages.
With 13 percent of children living below the poverty line, Maine kids were found to fare slightly better than those in the Northeast (15 percent) and nationally (16 percent).
Despite this, there are a greater share of households in Maine where parents lack secure employment, coming in at 28 percent.
26 percent of Maine children were found to be living in households with a high housing cost burden, meaning that resources are likely strapped in other areas of the budget for these families.
Again similar to regional and national averages, 5 percent of Maine teens are both not in school and not working.
Taken together, these factors have earned Maine an overall ranking of 17, landing the state in the top 25 percent of the country for child well-being.
