Kids Count Report Warns USVI Children Face Population Collapse, High Poverty, and Extremely High Rates of Single-Mother Households

A new analysis of child well-being in the U.S. Virgin Islands shows that the territory’s young people are growing up amid dramatic population loss, deep economic strain, fragile support systems, and persistent gaps in health and education. These findings come from the 2025 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book released by the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development, which presents a detailed picture of the challenges and progress shaping the lives of children across the territory.

The report, titled When Data Speaks: The Voices of Our Children, organizes its findings into six domains: economic well-being, family and community, education, health, opportunity youth, and community bright spots. For the fifth consecutive year, the Foundation urges policymakers to use the data as a tool for coordinated action rather than observation.

One of its clearest warnings is the rapid decline of the child population. From 2000 to 2020, the overall population fell by about 20 percent, but the number of children dropped by half—from 34,289 to 17,086. Children now represent just 19.6 percent of the population, with St. John at the lowest share at 15 percent. The report says this shift is straining schools, shrinking the future workforce, and placing increased pressure on working-age adults as the territory ages.

Economic indicators remain troubling. The most recent federal data show that 33 percent of all USVI children live in poverty, including 37 percent of those under age five—more than twice the national average. Wages lag behind U.S. levels, and in interviews included in the report, young people describe high living costs and limited career options as key reasons many choose to leave the territory. Unemployment, however, has stayed under 10 percent for four straight years, reaching 4 percent in 2024.