Florida Chamber: Childhood poverty rate drops again in 2024

A young athlete taking their first steps onto a competition field, their eyes wide with excitement and anticipation. Stock image via Adobe.

The Sunshine State is making progress in the fight against childhood poverty according to new data from the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber, which is leading a private-sector effort to halve Florida’s childhood poverty rate by 2030, said there are currently 714,768 poverty-stricken youngsters in the state.

While the figure is significant, the Chamber’s business-led effort has made substantial progress — the 2024 numbers represent a decrease 218,852, or more than 30%, since the organization launched the Florida Prosperity Project in 2016. The Chamber is also touting a year-over-year drop of about 23,000.

When Florida’s population boom is factored in, the stats shine brighter: 2024 marks the eighth consecutive year in which both the number and percentage of Florida children living in poverty declined.

“Breaking the cycle of generational poverty is not only a moral imperative but also a smart business decision,” said Florida Chamber Foundation President Mark Wilson.

“When I testified about the Florida ZIP code model before Congress in 2016, 23.3% of Florida’s children lived in poverty. Today, that number has dropped to 16.9%. This progress led by employer and community leaders is worth applauding, but the work is far from over.”

Florida Prosperity Project Director Kristina Donohue added, “The progress we’ve made is a direct result of the collaboration and leadership of the individuals serving on the Florida Prosperity Project Advisory Board, ZIP code adopters, local businesses, community advocates, and policymakers.”

Donahue also gave Hope Florida, an initiative helmed by First Lady Casey DeSantis, a shoutout for helping the Chamber continue inching toward the long-term goal: “By working together on this shared vision to cut Florida childhood poverty in half, we’re securing Florida’s future and paving the way for generational change.”

“While there are many leaders and groups to thank, I would like to thank the leaders of Hope Florida for aligning government and business leaders for improved self-sufficiency.

The Chamber’s statistics on childhood poverty and other key metrics influencing the state economy are available on TheFloridaScorecard.org.