Disconnected Youth*

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About

Percentage of teens and young adults ages 16-19 who are neither working nor in school. The 2023 County Health Rankings used data from 2017-2021 for this measure.

Youth disconnection portrays a dynamic between individuals and the society they live in. Disconnected youth are at an increased risk of violence, smoking, alcohol consumption and marijuana use, and may have emotional deficits and less cognitive and academic skills than their peers who are working and/or in school.1-5 Approximately 1 in 9 teenagers and young adults in the U.S. is currently referred to as disconnected; not in education, employment, or training.1 Several studies have shown that disconnected youth have a disproportionate share of related health problems including chronic unemployment, poverty, mental health disorders, criminal behaviors, incarceration, poor health, and early mortality.6-9

Find strategies to address Disconnected Youth*

Data and methods

Data Source

American Community Survey, 5-year estimates

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with a fresh look at how they are changing. It is a critical element in the Census Bureau's reengineered decennial census program. The ACS collects and produces population and housing information every year instead of every ten years, and publishes both one-year and five-year estimates. The County Health Rankings use American Community Survey data to obtain measures of social and economic factors.

Website to download data
For more detailed methodological information

Key Measure Methods

Disconnected Youth is a percentage

Disconnected Youth is the percentage of teens and young adults ages 16 to 19 who are neither working nor in school.

The method for calculating Disconnected Youth has changed

Beginning with the 2019 Rankings, this measure includes teens and young adults ages 16 to 19 who are neither working nor in school, whereas previously, those ages 16 to 24 were included.

Measure limitations

This measure does not account for the varying levels of risk assumed among disconnected youth. For instance, someone that drops out of high school and is incarcerated is considered just as disconnected as someone that graduated and is taking time off before beginning college.

Numerator

The numerator is the number of people, ages 16-19, who are neither working nor in school.

Denominator

The denominator is the total county population, ages 16-19.

Can This Measure Be Used to Track Progress

This measure can be used to track progress with some caveats. Trends should not be compared between the current data and the data before the 2019 Rankings due to changes in methodology. It is also important to note that the estimate provided by County Health Rankings is a 5-year average.

Finding More Data

Disaggregation means breaking data down into smaller, meaningful subgroups. Disaggregated data are often broken down by characteristics of people or where they live. Disaggregated data can reveal inequalities that are otherwise hidden. These data can be disaggregated by:

  • Gender
  • Education
  • Subcounty Area

You can find this data stratified by gender and education in table B14005. These tables can be accessed at https://data.census.gov/. For many communities, you can access these same tables at the census tract or census block level.

References

1 Mendelson T, Mmari K, Blum RW, Catalano RF, Brindis CD. Opportunity youth: insights and opportunities for a public health approach to reengage disconnected teenagers and young adults. Public Health Reports. 2018; 133, 54S-64S.

2 Besharov DJ, Gardiner KN. Preventing Youthful Disconnectedness. Children and Youth Services. 1998; 20:797-818.

3 Tandon SD, Barshall B, Templeman AJ, Sonenstein FL: Health Access and Status of Adolescents and Young Adults Using Youth Employment and Training Programs in an Urban Environment. Journal of Adolescent Health 2008; 43:30-37.

4 Vancea M, Utzet M. How unemployment and precarious employment affect the health of young people: A scoping study on social determinants. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2017; 45(1):73-84.

5 Morrell S, Taylor R, Kerr C. Jobless. Unemployment and young people's health. Medical Journal of Australia. 1998; 168(5):236-240.

6 Thurston RC, Kubzansky LD, Kawachi I, Berkman. Do Depression and Anxiety Mediate the Link Between Educational Attainment and CHD? Psychosomatic Medicine. 2006; 68:25-32.

7 Hair EC, Moore KA, Ling TJ, McPhee-Baker C, Brown BV. Youth who are disconnected and those who then reconnect: assessing the influence of family, programs, peers and communities. Child Trends Research Brief. 2009.

8 Fernandes-Alcantara AL. Disconnected Youth: A Look at 16 to 24 Year Olds Who Are Not Working or in School. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service; 2015.

9 Sissons P, Jones K. Lost in Transition? The Changing Labour Market and Young People Not in Employment, Education, or Training. Lancashire, England: The Work Foundation; 2012.