Las Vegas, NV (KXNT) - Growing up can be hard. Without a stable home, positive role models and tools for success, many young Americans fall behind their peers and experience a rocky transition to adulthood. Today, about one in 9 individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 are neither working nor attending school. Others suffer from poor health conditions that hinder their ability to develop physically or socially.
Such issues not only affect young people later in life, but they also prove harmful to society as a whole. For instance, more than 70 percent of young adults today are ineligible to join the U.S. military because they fail academic, moral or health qualifications. Research shows that when youth grow up in environments with economic problems and a lack of role models, they’re more at risk for poverty, early pregnancy and violence, especially in adulthood. The environment is even more difficult for these young Americans in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt the job market, caused schooling to be held online in many cases and kept people more isolated than usual, though conditions are improving as the country reopens. The pandemic is also a big source of stress, and some youth may not have anyone to turn to for support.
To determine the places where young Americans are not faring as well as others in the same age group, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 15 key indicators of youth risk, ranging from the share of disconnected youth to the labor force participation rate among youth to the youth poverty rate.
Nevada fares poorly in the WalletHub study, with only two states- Louisiana and Mississippi - ranking below the Silver State.
Hurting Nevada’s overall rank was a tie at the top of the ‘Highest % of Homeless Youth’ category (with 4 other states and the District of Columbia), and 3rd from the bottom finishes in the “Highest % of Disconnected Youth’ and ‘Highest % of Youth Without a High School Diploma’.
New England states fared best in the WalletHub study, with Massachusetts taking the top spot. They were followed by New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.
For a look at the full study, click here.