2017 Kids Count: Mercer County Ranks among Top 10 in Economic Well‐Being, Health and Safety;   Falls Short in Education 

Mercer County ranked sixth in child and family economics but was 19th in education, according to the
annual New Jersey Kids Count county profiles and pocket guide released today.

View County Profiles and Ranking

View pocket guide, New Jersey Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Counties

(county-by-county trend data on 40 indicators of child health and well-being)

The rankings, which compare counties on 12 measures of child well‐being, and across four domains –
economics, health, safety and well‐being, and education – provide a closer look at how children are
faring in various parts of the state, often revealing a range of outcomes depending on where they live.
The pocket guide, NJ Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Counties provides county‐by‐county child trend
data across 40 measures of child well‐being.

“Some counties have seen encouraging progress, but the reality is that 46 percent of Mercer County
households are spending more than 30 percent or more of their incomes on rent,” said Cecilia Zalkind,
president and CEO of Advocates for Children New Jersey, which produces the state Kids Count reports.
“We encourage community leaders to use the data to identify opportunities for progress and target
resources to improve the lives of children in their county.”

Mercer County Ranks:

6th in Child and Family Economics: For the nearly 81,000 children that call Mercer County home, 16
percent live in poverty, putting the county in 12th place on this indicator. Unemployment is at 4.3
percent, compared to New Jersey’s 5 percent.

7th in Child Health: Nearly 24 percent of Mercer County children under age 6 received a blood lead test
in 2015, slightly less that the state average of 26 percent. In addition, 2.6 percent of kids are without
health insurance, placing Mercer ninth on this indicator; New Jersey’s child uninsured rate is 3.7
percent.

10th in Safety and Well‐Being: Six percent of Mercer teens are not enrolled in school and without work,
sometimes referred to as idle or disconnected youth, in line with the state percentage. Mercer County
also had a lower percentage of reported children with substantiated or established cases of abuse or
neglect than the state, putting the county in the eighth spot on this indicator. Consistent with statewide
trends, the county saw a dramatic decrease in juvenile arrest rates from 29.3 arrests per 1,000 in 2011
to 13.5 in 2015.

19th in Education: Mercer’s 89 percent high school graduation rate is just below New Jersey’s rate of 90
percent. Thirty‐two percent of low‐income Mercer County students start the day with school breakfast,
placing the county 17th on this indicator. In addition, 12 percent of students are chronically absent,
meaning they miss 10 percent or more of enrolled school days; the state average is 10 percent.
In addition to the county rankings, Advocates for Children of New Jersey also released New Jersey Kids
Count 2017: The State of Our Children, in May, which provides state‐level data in all areas of child well‐
being.

To read the reports, visit www.acnj.org.
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KIDS COUNT is a national and state‐by‐state statistical effort to track the state of children in the United
States, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Advocates for Children of New Jersey is a statewide
child research and action organization and the New Jersey Kids Count grantee.