Our very youngest children—infants and toddlers under age 3 years—appear to be particularly vulnerable, with 45 percent living in low-income families, including 23 percent living in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children’s experience of economic insecurity. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics of children and their parents. It highlights important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children from their less disadvantaged counterparts