Data Site Highlights Intersection of NH Economy and Child Well-Being

Lynn Davey, Ph.D., is a psychologist and strategic communications consultant who helps communicate complex social issues and advance well-being for children, families, and communities. She has served as research director for a child advocacy organization and worked at a think tank in Washington, D.C., that studies how framing shapes public understanding of social issues. Davey also conceived and developed the NH Child Well-Being Data Hub, a web-based interactive data visualization tool that shows how children develop within interconnected systems such as family, education, housing, childcare, public policy, and broader social forces.

Fresh Takes caught up with Lynn to discuss trends highlighted in the Child Well-Being Data Hub and the key takeaways from this year’s data.

How can users access the Data Hub and what function does it serve?

Anyone can go to nhchilddata.org. It allows people to move beyond anecdotes, access reliable data on child and family well-being throughout the state and look at long-term trends. We have many years of data now, and county-level trends as well. We want it to be a resource for community leaders, journalists, policymakers, researchers, and advocates who need credible data.

What overall trends are you seeing in this year’s data?

I think the clearest overall trend is that New Hampshire families are working hard, but rising costs are making it increasingly difficult for that work to translate into stability. There’s a disconnect between high employment and economic security. Many families who aren't technically defined as “poor” in terms of the poverty level are still struggling to afford the basics that kids need to thrive.

In terms of positive trends, the state has one of the highest insured rates of children in the country. Only about 3% are uninsured. Preventive dental rates are high, especially among school-aged children; that is important because oral health is connected to overall health. The state has led concerted efforts in developmental screenings and it's paid off clearly.

There are some emerging concerns. Access to mental and behavioral health care stands out. In the most recent data, a high percentage of parents who sought mental health care treatment for their children reported difficulty obtaining it. Three in four families indicate it was at least somewhat difficult to get care.

Lynn Davey.

What does the data tell us about the connection between childcare access and family economic stability?

One of the clearest messages in the data is that childcare is a system under pressure. Childcare is not just a family issue; it is a workforce participation issue and a workforce stability issue. One in four low-income parents with young children reported having to quit a job, decline a job opportunity, or significantly change their employment because of childcare problems. Statewide, across all income levels, 10% of parents reported employment disruption related to childcare. That could be timing, accessibility, or affordability. Childcare costs are extraordinarily high –– statewide, it averages 35% of household income for families with two children.

The data reveals a troubling disconnect: childcare remains unaffordable for many families, while the educators who provide it earn very low wages. On average, it's often less than half the statewide average income. The data points to addressing childcare as key infrastructure that supports children, families, employers and the broader economy.

What trends are we seeing in vaccination coverage in NH and the US?

The vaccination coverage trends stood out, and they’re something we’re watching closely. Unfortunately, the CDC has not updated the infant and toddler coverage data in two years, so we're relying on the school-age vaccination data that has been updated. We have 12 years of the data available on the Data Hub.

Over the past decade, New Hampshire’s vaccination coverage rates have declined and fallen below the national average. Both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics consider 95% vaccination coverage as the threshold needed for herd immunity, and both New Hampshire and the nation are now below that benchmark.

In addition to the decline in overall coverage, we’re also seeing increases in non-medical exemptions in recent years. This matters because vaccination isn’t just about individual protection –– it’s about community-level protection, especially for kids who are medically vulnerable. Maintaining strong vaccination coverage is one of the ways communities can protect their most vulnerable members.

Housing and access to healthy food have received a lot of press coverage, and solutions have been debated by policymakers. What does this year’s data tell us about those issues?

Affordability pressures are reshaping daily life for families. Housing costs are high. In every single county, annual rental prices for a two-bedroom unit have dramatically risen above the average annual income.

Food hardship follows a similar pattern. While relatively few households are reporting literal hunger, many families report difficulty affording the nutritious food they know their families need. So, the story the data tells is not necessarily one of extreme poverty so much as the inability to afford sufficient nutritious food. It’s a struggle today even for middle-income households. Many food-insecure children live in households whose income levels are above current state eligibility thresholds for federal nutrition programs such as SNAP and free or reduced-price school meals.  

These trends reinforce that there's this growing gap between wages and the real cost of raising children. The housing data shows that; childcare data shows that; rising cost of food shows that. Those factors are the central theme of this year's data release.

Can you summarize the major trends that readers should take away from this year’s data?

Some trends are encouraging. New Hampshire has made major gains in reducing child poverty, increasing insurance coverage, and improving developmental screening. Those improvements demonstrate that when communities and policymakers invest in children and families, those investments can produce meaningful results.

At the same time, the data points to growing affordability pressures that have intensified since the pandemic. Housing, childcare, and food costs have risen at a pace that families can't keep up with. Hardship is increasingly affecting families across a broader swath of income levels.

One of the key insights from the NH Child Data Hub is that these challenges do not occur in isolation. Housing costs affect food budgets, childcare costs influence employment decisions, and strains in one area often create pressures in others. Looking across these interconnected systems helps us better understand both the challenges facing children and families and the kinds of solutions that can improve well-being over the long term.

---

Anyone interested in learning more about the latest child well-being data can go to the Data Hub here. Additional resources on the current state of childcare data and policy can be viewed below.

• UNH Carsey School of Public Policy –– NH Early Care and Education Research Consortium

• Carsey Policy Hour

• UNH ECE Data Collection Efforts Running Inventory

• New Futures AEC 2025 National Databook

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center

• New Futures NH Kids Count Data Center

• Children’s Funding Project –– New Hampshire Children and Youth Fiscal Map

• New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute –– “The State of Child Care in New Hampshire: End of One-Time Federal Investments May Reduce Industry Stability”