How Are Families in the U.S. Using Their Child Tax Credit Payments? — Social Policy Institute (September 2021)

Summary

A Social Policy Institute report on Child Tax Credit usage marked September, 2021, State by State: How are families in the U.S. using their Child Tax Credit payments?, which the report describes as one national overview brief, 50 state briefs and a Washington D.C. brief. It uses Census Household Pulse survey data collected between July 21st and August 16th on CTC-eligible families making less than $150,000 a year. The national overview reports that 43% of families mostly used the CTC to pay down debt, that purchasing food (51%) was the most common use, and that severe food insecurity among eligible families dropped by almost 30% after the payments. Each state brief gives the share of eligible families receiving the credit and how they used it, such as 69% receipt in Alabama and 59% in California. The report closes with the Wyoming brief.

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Full text

State by State: How are families in the U.S. using
their Child Tax Credit payments?

The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more
than half. The CTC expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of
six and $3,000 for every child between the ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children
are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample
of CTC-eligible families making less than $150,000 a year report using their payments. This survey was
administered between July 21st and August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments
were deposited in families’ bank account. These fact sheets include key data on CTC receipt, payment
usage, and changes in families’ food security after the payments went out.

This report is currently composed of one national overview brief, 50 state briefs and a Washington D.C. brief.
Puerto Rico and other territories are not included because while they are eligible for the expanded CTC,
there is no provision for them to file for or receive advance payments. Additionally, the territories are not
included in the Household Pulse Surveys so updated data about household impacts are not available for
analysis.

To access these briefs as separate pages you can find the full list of states here. For more information and
any media requests you can email us at socialpolicyinstitute@wustl.edu.




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Table of Contents

National Overview ...................................................................................................................................................4
Alabama ...................................................................................................................................................................6
Alaska.......................................................................................................................................................................8
Arizona ...................................................................................................................................................................10
Arkansas ................................................................................................................................................................12
California ...............................................................................................................................................................14
Colorado ................................................................................................................................................................16
Connecticut ...........................................................................................................................................................18
Delaware ................................................................................................................................................................20
Florida ....................................................................................................................................................................22
Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................24
Hawaii ....................................................................................................................................................................26
Idaho ......................................................................................................................................................................28
Illinois ....................................................................................................................................................................30
Indiana ...................................................................................................................................................................32
Iowa .......................................................................................................................................................................34
Kansas ....................................................................................................................................................................36
Kentucky ................................................................................................................................................................38
Louisiana ...............................................................................................................................................................40
Maine .....................................................................................................................................................................42
Maryland ................................................................................................................................................................44
Massachusetts .......................................................................................................................................................46
Michigan ................................................................................................................................................................48
Minnesota ..............................................................................................................................................................50
Mississippi..............................................................................................................................................................52
Missouri..................................................................................................................................................................54
Montana .................................................................................................................................................................56
Nebraska................................................................................................................................................................58
Nevada ...................................................................................................................................................................60


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New Hampshire .....................................................................................................................................................62
New Jersey ............................................................................................................................................................64
New Mexico............................................................................................................................................................66
New York ................................................................................................................................................................68
North Carolina .......................................................................................................................................................70
North Dakota .........................................................................................................................................................72
Ohio........................................................................................................................................................................74
Oklahoma ..............................................................................................................................................................76
Oregon ...................................................................................................................................................................78
Pennsylvania .........................................................................................................................................................80
Rhode Island ..........................................................................................................................................................82
South Carolina.......................................................................................................................................................84
South Dakota .........................................................................................................................................................86
Tennessee ..............................................................................................................................................................88
Texas ......................................................................................................................................................................90
Utah .......................................................................................................................................................................92
Vermont .................................................................................................................................................................94
Virginia ...................................................................................................................................................................96
Washington............................................................................................................................................................98
Washington D.C. .................................................................................................................................................100
West Virginia ........................................................................................................................................................101
Wisconsin .............................................................................................................................................................103
Wyoming ..............................................................................................................................................................105




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How are American families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible American
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost two-thirds of eligible U.S. families         Key Finding 2: 43% of U.S. families reported mostly using their
 received the CTC.                                                  CTC to pay down debt, 30% mostly spent their CTC, and 28%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: Families’ most common uses of the CTC                 Key Finding 4: The rate of severe food insecurity among
 payments were purchasing food for their family (51%),                eligible families dropped by almost 30% after the CTC
 followed by paying essential bills (36%), and paying for             payments went out.
 clothing and other essentials for their children (30%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Over 60% of Asian/other, Black, and white families received the CTC, while
                 56% of Hispanic families did.




                     Key Finding 6: Usage of the CTC was similar across different racial/ethnic groups in the U.S.,
                     though Asian/other families were somewhat more likely to mostly spend the CTC while Black
                     and Hispanic families were somewhat more likely to mostly use it to pay down debt.




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How are Alabama families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Alabama
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 69% of eligible AL families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 49% of AL families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 26% mostly saved their CTC, and 25%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible AL families experienced lower rates
 among AL families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (47%), school expenses (35%), and paying for clothing and            went out.
 other essentials for their children (34%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Families in the middle income category in AL were most likely to receive the
                 CTC (71%) followed by families in the highest income category (69%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report saving their CTC payments.




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How are Alaska families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Alaska families
making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th,
covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 63% of eligible AK families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 47% of AK families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 23% mostly saved their CTC, and 30%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible AK families experienced lower rates
 among AK families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (63%), managing bills (42%), and paying for clothing and             went out.
 other essentials for their children (35%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Families of all income categories in AK were similarly likely to receive the
                 CTC (between 54% and 62%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the middle income category were slightly more likely to use their
                    CTC funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the lowest income
                    category were more likely to report spending their CTC payments.




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How are Arizona families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Arizona
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 68% of eligible AZ families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 43% of AZ families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 27% mostly saved their CTC, and 31%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible AZ families experienced lower rates
 among AZ families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (52%), managing bills (39%), and paying for clothing and
 other essentials for their children (35%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Families of different races/ethnicities in AZ were similarly likely to receive the
                 CTC (between 64% and 68%).




                    Key Finding 6: Black AZ families were more likely to mostly spend their CTC funds relative
                    to other groups, while Hispanic families were more likely to report using their CTC payments
                    to mostly pay down debt.




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How are Arkansas families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Arkansas
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 65% of eligible AR families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 41% of AR families reported mostly spending
                                                                    their CTC payment, 39% used their CTC to pay down debt, and
                                                                    20% mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible AR families experienced lower rates
 among AR families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (54%), managing bills (50%), and housing costs (29%).                went out.




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                 Key Finding 5: Families in the highest income category in AR were most likely to receive the
                 CTC (79%) followed by families in the middle income category (65%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report saving their CTC payments.




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How are California families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of California
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 59% of eligible CA families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 48% of CA families reported using their CTC to
                                                                    pay down debt, 28% mostly spent it, and 24% mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible CA families experienced lower rates
 among CA families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (62%), managing bills (36%), and clothing costs (36%).               went out.




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                 Key Finding 5: Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity were most likely to receive
                 CTC payments (60%), followed by white (54%), Hispanic (52%), and Black (50%) families.




                    Key Finding 6: Hispanic families were more likely to use their CTC funds to pay down debt
                    relative to other groups, while Black families were more likely to report spending their CTC
                    payments.




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How are Colorado families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Colorado
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost two-thirds of eligible CO families           Key Finding 2: 40% of CO families reported mostly using their
 received the CTC.                                                  CTC to pay down debt, 28% mostly saved their CTC, and 32%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: CO families’ most common uses of the CTC              Key Finding 4: Eligible CO families experienced slightly
 payments were purchasing food for their family (51%),                lower rates of food insecurity following the introduction of the
 followed by paying for school expenses (30%), and paying for         CTC.
 clothing and other essentials for their children (29%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Almost 70% of higher-income CO families received the CTC, compared to
                 around 60% of middle- and lower-income families.




                    Key Finding 6: Lower-income CO families were more likely to report mostly spending the
                    CTC or mostly using it to pay down debt, while higher-income families were more likely to
                    report mostly saving the CTC.




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How are Connecticut families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Connecticut
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 61% of eligible CT families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 48% of CT families reported using their CTC to
                                                                    mostly pay down debt, 27% mostly spent it, and 25% mostly
                                                                    saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible CT families experienced lower rates
 among CT families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate food insecurity after CTC payments went out,
 (50%), managing bills (39%), and housing costs (29%).                although rates of severe food insecurity increased.




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                 Key Finding 5: Black CT families were most likely to receive CTC payments (81%), followed
                 by Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity (74%).




                    Key Finding 6: Black families were more likely to use their CTC funds to pay down debt
                    relative to other groups, while Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity were more
                    likely to report mostly spending their CTC payments.




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How are Delaware families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Delaware
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 65% of eligible DE families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 47% of DE families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 23% mostly saved their CTC, and 30%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Food insecurity rates were roughly flat among
 among DE families were purchasing food for their family              DE families after the CTC payments went out.
 (69%), managing bills (32%), and paying for housing (29%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Around 70% of families in the middle and high income categories in DE
                 received the CTC, while only 56% of those in the low income category did.




                    Key Finding 6: Over half of families in the low and high income categories mostly used the
                    CTC to pay down debt, while those in the middle income category were more likely to mostly
                    spend it.




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How are Florida families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Florida
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 60% of eligible FL families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 47% of FL families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 21% mostly saved their CTC, and 32%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible FL families experienced lower rates
 among FL families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after the introduction of the CTC, as
 (56%), managing bills (37%), and paying the rent or mortgage         families moved from severe to moderate food insecurity.
 (36%).




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                 Key Finding 5: White and Hispanic FL families were most likely to receive CTC payments
                 (62%), followed Black (57%) families.




                    Key Finding 6: Black FL families were much more likely to use their CTC funds to mostly pay
                    off debt relative to other groups, while Hispanic and white families were more likely than other
                    groups to mostly save the CTC.




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How are Georgia families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Georgia
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Two-thirds of eligible GA families received         Key Finding 2: 36% of GA families reported mostly spending
 the CTC.                                                           their CTC payments, 35% mostly paid down debt, and 29%
                                                                    mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible GA families experienced lower rates
 among GA families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (53%), paying for school expenses (38%), and paying for              went out.
 clothing and other essentials for their children (37%).




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              Key Finding 5: Asian GA families or those of some other race/ethnicity were most likely to receive CTC
              payments (81%), followed by white (70%) and Hispanic (64%) families.




              Key Finding 6: Asian/other GA families were much more likely to spend their CTC payments compared to
              other groups, while Hispanic families were much more likely to report using their CTC payments to mostly
              pay down debt. Black and white GA families were fairly evenly split on the primary uses of the CTC.




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How are Hawaii families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Hawaii
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 61% of eligible HI families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 35% of HI families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 34% mostly saved their CTC, and 31%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible HI families experienced lower rates
 among HI families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (63%), school expenses (38%), and managing bills (29%).              went out.




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                 Key Finding 5: Families in the highest income category in HI were most likely to receive the
                 CTC (74%), followed by families in the lowest income category (63%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the middle and high income category reported using their CTC for
                    similar purposes (around 75% reported mostly paying down debt or mostly saving it), while
                    those in the lowest income category were more likely to report mostly spending their CTC
                    payments.




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How are Idaho families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Idaho families
making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th,
covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 67% of eligible ID families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 39% of ID families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt or save their CTC, and 22% mostly spent
                                                                    it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible ID families experienced lower rates
 among ID families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (46%), paying down debt (29%), and covering clothing
 expenses (29%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Families in the highest income category in ID were most likely to receive the
                 CTC (83%), followed by families in the middle income category (70%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the lowest income category were slightly more likely to use their
                    CTC funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income
                    category were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




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How are Indiana families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Indiana
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 70% of eligible IN families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 43% of IN families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 28% mostly saved their CTC, and 30%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible IN families experienced slightly
 among IN families were purchasing food for their family              lower rates of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went
 (43%), paying for school expenses (36%), and managing bills          out, though moderate food insecurity also increased slightly.
 (36%).




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                 Key Finding 5: IN families in the highest income category were most likely to receive the
                 CTC (78%), followed by those in the middle income category (70%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report saving their CTC payments.




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How are Illinois families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Illinois
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Over two-thirds of eligible IL families received Key Finding 2: 44% of IL families reported mostly using their
 the CTC.                                                        CTC to pay down debt, 34% mostly saved their CTC, and 23%
                                                                 mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible IL families experienced higher rates
 among IL families were purchasing food for their family              of food security coupled with lower rates of severe food
 (46%), managing bills (35%), and paying for clothing and             insecurity after the CTC payments went out.
 other essentials for their children (28%).




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                 Key Finding 5: Eligible Black and white IL families were the most likely to receive CTC
                 payments (71-72%), followed by Asian families and those of some other race/ethnicity (63%).
                 Only 53% of Hispanic families received the CTC.




                    Key Finding 6: Black IL families were more likely to save their CTC funds relative to other
                    groups, while Hispanic families were much more likely to report using their CTC payments to
                    mostly pay down debt and Asian/other families were more likely to mostly spend it.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Iowa families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Iowa
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost two-thirds of eligible IA families           Key Finding 2: 39% of IA families reported mostly using their
 received the CTC.                                                  CTC to pay down debt, 35% mostly saved their CTC, and 26%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible IA families experienced higher rates
 among IA families were purchasing food for their family              of overall food security after CTC payments went out.
 (44%), managing bills (37%), and paying the rent/mortgage
 (27%).




Social Policy Institute
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1
                 Key Finding 5: Middle-income IA families were most likely to receive CTC payments (71%),
                 followed by high-income (65%) and low-income (54%) families.




                    Key Finding 6: Low-income IA families were much more likely to use their CTC to mostly
                    pay off debt, while middle-income families were more likely to mostly spend the CTC and
                    high-income families were most likely to save it.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Kansas families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Kansas
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 60% of eligible KS families received         Key Finding 2: 42% of KS families reported mostly using their
 the CTC.                                                           CTC to pay down debt, 34% mostly saved their CTC, and 25%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Food security was largely stable in KS
 among KS families were purchasing food for their family              families after CTC payments went out, with overall food
 (45%), managing bills (32%), and paying for their children’s         security increasing slightly.
 school expenses (27%).




Social Policy Institute
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1
                 Key Finding 5: Receipt of the CTC was relatively similar regardless of household income,
                 with 57% of lower-income and 63% of higher-income KS households receiving the CTC.




                    Key Finding 6: Lower-income KS families were much more likely than other groups to use the
                    CTC mostly to pay off debt, while middle- and higher-income families were much more likely
                    to mostly save the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Kentucky families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Kentucky
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 67% of eligible KY families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 38% of KY families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 25% mostly saved their CTC, and 37%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible KY families experienced lower rates
 among KY families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (56%), managing bills (38%), and covering clothing costs
 (28%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: KY families in the highest income category were most likely to receive the
                 CTC (75%), followed by those in the middle income category (73%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly spending their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Louisiana families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Louisiana
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 66% of eligible LA families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 38% of LA families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 28% mostly saved their CTC, and 34%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible LA families experienced lower rates
 among LA families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (48%), school expenses (37%), and managing bills (34%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: LA families in the highest income category were most likely to receive the
                 CTC (76%), followed by those in the middle income category (69%).




                    Key Finding 6: Families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Maine families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Maine
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 65% of eligible ME families received         Key Finding 2: 45% of ME families reported mostly using their
 the CTC.                                                           CTC to pay down debt, 29% mostly saved their CTC, and 26%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible ME families experienced higher rates
 among ME families were purchasing food for their family              of food security and much lower rates of severe food insecurity
 (46%), managing bills (38%), and making their rent/mortgage          after CTC payments went out.
 payments (32%).




Social Policy Institute
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1
                 Key Finding 5: Roughly 60% of lower- and middle-income eligible ME families received the
                 CTC, while almost 80% of higher-income families received it.




                    Key Finding 6: Lower-income ME families were more likely to report using the CTC to
                    primarily pay down debt, while middle-income families were more likely to mostly save it and
                    higher-income families were more likely to mostly spend it.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Maryland families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Maryland
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 65% of eligible MD families received the            Key Finding 2: 42% of MD families reported mostly using their
 CTC.                                                               CTC to pay down debt, 22% mostly saved their CTC, and 36%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible MD families experienced lower rates
 among MD families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (51%), managing bills (46%), and paying for housing                  went out.
 expenses (25%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
            Key Finding 5: Black and white MD families had the highest rate of CTC receipt (67%), followed by
            Hispanic families (56%) and Asian families or those of other race/ethnicity (51%).




              Key Finding 6: Black MD families were more likely to use their CTC funds to pay down debt relative
              to other groups, while Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity were more likely to report
              mostly spending their CTC payments. Hispanic families were more likely to mostly save it.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Massachusetts families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Massachusetts
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 65% of eligible MA families received the            Key Finding 2: 48% of MA families reported mostly using their
 CTC.                                                               CTC to pay down debt, 26% mostly saved their CTC, and 26%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC among                 Key Finding 4: Eligible MA families experienced lower rates
 eligible MA families were purchasing food for their family           of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (51%), housing costs (37%), and managing bills (34%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
              Key Finding 5: Black, Hispanic, and white MA families received the CTC at similar rates (67%-68%),
              while 33% of Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity received the CTC.




                 Key Finding 6: Hispanic MA families were more likely to use their CTC funds to pay down debt
                 relative to other groups, while Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity were more likely
                 to report mostly spending their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Michigan families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Michigan
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 61% of eligible MI families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 43% of MI families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 34% mostly saved their CTC, and 23%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments             Key Finding 4: Eligible MI families experienced slightly
 among MI families were purchasing food for their family             lower rates of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went
 (46%), managing bills (34%), and paying the rent/mortgage           out.
 (26%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
           Key Finding 5: White MI families were most likely to receive CTC payments (62%), followed by Asian
           families or those of other races/ethnicities (53%) and Black (50%) families. Only 46% of Hispanic families
           received the CTC.




            Key Finding 6: Black and Hispanic MI families were more likely to mostly use their CTC funds to pay down
            debt relative to other groups, while white families were more likely to save the CTC funds and Asian/other
            families were more likely to spend it.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Minnesota families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Minnesota
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost two-thirds of eligible MN families           Key Finding 2: 36% of MN families reported mostly saving their
 received the CTC.                                                  CTC, 35% mostly spent their CTC, and 29% mostly paid down
                                                                    debt.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible MN families experienced somewhat
 among MN families were purchasing food for their family              higher rates of overall food security after CTC payments went
 (52%), managing bills (31%), and paying the rent/mortgage            out.
 (24%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: Between 71% and 76% of Asian/Other, Black, and Hispanic MN families
                 received the CTC, as compared to 63% of white families.




                    Key Finding 6: Black and Asian/Other MN families were more likely to report mostly
                    spending their CTC payments, while Hispanic families were more likely to report mostly
                    saving it. White families were relatively evenly split in how they used the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Mississippi families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Mississippi
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 63% of eligible MS families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 52% of MS families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 17% mostly saved their CTC, and 31%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible MS families experienced slightly
 among MS families were school expenses (48%) purchasing              higher rates of overall food security after CTC payments went
 food for their family (47%), and managing bills (38%).               out, though severe food insecurity increased as well.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: MS families in the middle income category received the CTC at the highest
                 rate (69%), followed by families in the highest income category (65%).




                    Key Finding 6: Majorities of MS families in the low and middle income categories used the
                    CTC to mostly pay down debt, while a majority of those in the highest income category were
                    mostly saved their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Missouri families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Missouri
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 66% of eligible MO families received the            Key Finding 2: 40% of MO families reported mostly using their
 CTC.                                                               CTC to pay down debt, 32% mostly saved their CTC, and 27%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible MO families experienced lower rates
 among MO families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (45%), managing bills (32%), and covering clothing costs
 (28%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: All income categories of MO families received the CTC at similar rates (63%-
                 66%).




                    Key Finding 6: MO families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Montana families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Montana
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 63% of eligible MT families received         Key Finding 2: 36% of MT families reported mostly using their
 the CTC.                                                           CTC to pay down debt, 35% mostly saved their CTC, and 30%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible MT families experienced lower rates
 were purchasing food for their family (51%), managing bills          of moderate and severe food insecurity following the
 (28%), and saving for the future (26%).                              introduction of the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: Almost 80% of higher-income eligible MT families received the CTC, while
                 71% of middle-income and 44% of lower-income families received the CTC.




                    Key Finding 6: Lower-income MT families were much more likely to mostly spend the CTC
                    or mostly use it to pay down debt, while higher-income MT families were much more likely to
                    mostly save the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Nebraska families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Nebraska
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 63% of eligible NE families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 42% of NE families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 30% mostly saved their CTC, and 29%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible NE families experienced lower rates
 among NE families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (48%), managing bills (31%), and covering clothing costs
 (28%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: NE families in the highest income category received the CTC at the highest
                 rate (75%), followed by families in the middle income category (66%).




                    Key Finding 6: NE families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Nevada families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Nevada
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 61% of eligible NV families received         Key Finding 2: Over half of NV families reported mostly using
 the CTC.                                                           their CTC to pay down debt, 30% mostly spent their CTC, and
                                                                    20% mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible NV families experienced slightly
 among NV families were purchasing food for their family              higher rates of food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (62%), managing bills (50%), and paying for clothing and
 other essentials for their children (42%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
               Key Finding 5: Eligible NV Asian families and those of some other race/ethnicity were most likely
               to receive CTC payments (66%), followed by white (64%) and Hispanic (58%) families.




                  Key Finding 6: Black NV families were much more likely to mostly spend their CTC funds
                  relative to other groups, while Hispanic families were much more likely to report using their CTC
                  payments to mostly pay down debt. White families were the most likely to mostly save the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are New Hampshire families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use the Census Household Pulse to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible New Hampshire families
making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th,
covering the period when the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 71% of eligible NH families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 41% of NH families reported mostly saving their
                                                                    CTC, 31% mostly used it to pay down debt, and 28% mostly spent
                                                                    it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible NH families experienced higher rates
 among NH families were purchasing food for their family              of overall food security and much lower rates of severe food
 (31%), saving for the future (29%), and paying essential bills       insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (24%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
             Key Finding 5: Eligible middle-income NH families were most likely to receive the CTC (83%),
             followed by higher-income (70%) and lower-income (62%) families.




              Key Finding 6: Lower-income NH families were more likely to report mostly paying off debt with their
              CTC, while middle-income families were more likely to report saving the CTC. Higher-income NH
              families were almost as likely to mostly spend their CTC as mostly save it or mostly pay down debt.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are New Jersey families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible New Jersey families
making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th,
covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 60% of eligible NJ families received         Key Finding 2: Almost half of NJ families reported mostly using
 the CTC.                                                           their CTC to pay down debt, 28% mostly saved their CTC, and
                                                                    24% mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible NJ families experienced higher rates
 among NJ families were purchasing food for their family              of food security and lower rates of severe food insecurity after
 (50%), managing bills (32%), and paying down debt (30%).             CTC payments went out.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
             Key Finding 5: Black NJ families were most likely to receive CTC payments (76%), followed by white
             (63%) and Hispanic (54%) families. Only 44% of Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity
             received the CTC.




            Key Finding 6: Black and Hispanic NJ families were much more likely to use their CTC funds mostly on
            paying down debt relative to other groups, while white families were more likely to report mostly saving their
            CTC payments and Asian/other families were more likely to report mostly spending the payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are New Mexico families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of New Mexico
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 63% of eligible NM families received the            Key Finding 2: 37% of NM families reported mostly using their
 CTC.                                                               CTC to pay down debt, 31% mostly saved their CTC, and 32%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible NM families experienced lower rates
 among NM families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (46%), clothing costs (43%), and school expenses (38%).              went out.




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                 Key Finding 5: NM families in the upper income category received the CTC at the highest rate
                 (72%), followed by families in the lowest income category (63%).




                    Key Finding 6: NM families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are New York families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible New York
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 60% of eligible NY families received         Key Finding 2: 39% of NY families reported mostly using their
 the CTC.                                                           CTC to pay down debt, 31% mostly spent their CTC, and 30%
                                                                    mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible NY families much higher rates of
 among NY families were purchasing food for their family              overall food security and lower rates of severe food insecurity
 (48%), managing bills (38%), and paying for clothing and             after the CTC payments went out.
 other essentials for their children (34%).




Social Policy Institute
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                 Key Finding 5: White NY families were most likely to receive CTC payments (60%), followed
                 by Black (54%) and Hispanic (52%) families. Only a third of Asian families or families of
                 some other race/ethnicity received the CTC.




                    Key Finding 6: Black, Asian, and families of some other race/ethnicity were more likely to
                    mostly use their CTC funds to pay down debt, while Hispanic families were more likely to
                    mostly spend or save their CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are North Carolina families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of North Carolina
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 62% of eligible NC families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 43% of NC families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 30% mostly saved their CTC, and 27%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible NC families experienced lower rates
 among NC families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (50%), managing bills (38%), and clothing costs (34%).




Social Policy Institute
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                 Key Finding 5: NC families in the highest income category received the CTC at the highest
                 rate (70%), followed by families in the middle income category (68%).




                    Key Finding 6: NC families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the middle and high income
                    categories were roughly evenly split in their main uses of the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are North Dakota families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of North Dakota
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 69% of eligible ND families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 52% of ND families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 21% mostly saved their CTC, and 26%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible ND families experienced lower rates
 among ND families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (55%), managing bills (29%), and paying down debt (28%).             went out. Overall food security increased substantially.




Social Policy Institute
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1
                 Key Finding 5: ND families in the middle income category received the CTC at the highest
                 rate (72%), followed by families in the lowest income category (69%).




                    Key Finding 6: ND families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Ohio families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Ohio families
making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th,
covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 67% of eligible OH families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 43% of OH families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 31% mostly saved their CTC, and 26%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible OH families experienced lower rates
 among OH families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (47%), managing bills (40%), and clothing costs (32%).               went out.




Social Policy Institute
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                 Key Finding 5: OH families in the upper income category received the CTC at the highest rate
                 (83%), followed by families in the middle income category (70%).




                    Key Finding 6: OH families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Oklahoma families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Oklahoma
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 63% of eligible OK families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 42% of OK families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 29% mostly saved their CTC, and 29%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible OK families experienced lower rates
 among OK families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (57%), managing bills (43%), and clothing costs (42%).




Social Policy Institute
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                 Key Finding 5: OK families in the upper income category received the CTC at the highest rate
                 (68%), followed by families in the lowest income category (61%).




                    Key Finding 6: OK families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the middle and highest income
                    categories were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Oregon families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Oregon
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 61% of eligible OR families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 43% of OR families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 28% mostly saved their CTC, and 28%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible OR families experienced lower rates
 among OR families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (56%), managing bills (36%), and paying for housing costs
 (34%).




Social Policy Institute
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          Key Finding 5: OR families in the upper income category received the CTC at the highest rate (74%), followed by
          families in the middle income category (68%). However, less than 50% in the lowest income category received it.




        Key Finding 6: OR families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC funds to pay down debt
        relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC
        payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Pennsylvania families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Pennsylvania
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost two-thirds of eligible PA families           Key Finding 2: 43% of PA families reported mostly using their
 received the CTC.                                                  CTC to pay down debt, 29% mostly spent their CTC, and 28%
                                                                    mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible PA families experienced lower rates
 among PA families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity, as more families moved from severe
 (41%), managing bills (37%), and paying down debt (26%).             insecurity to moderate insecurity.




Social Policy Institute
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1
                 Key Finding 5: Black PA families were most likely to receive CTC payments (73%), followed
                 by Hispanic (64%) and Asian/Other (60%) families.




                    Key Finding 6: Black PA families were more likely to use their CTC funds to pay down debt
                    than other groups, while Hispanic and white families were much more likely to report mostly
                    saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Rhode Island families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Rhode Island
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 72% of eligible RI families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 43% of RI families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 29% mostly saved their CTC, and 28%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments             Key Finding 4: Eligible RI families experienced lower rates
 among RI families were purchasing food for their family             of moderate food insecurity after CTC payments, though
 (47%), managing bills (42%), and clothing expenses (41%).           severe food insecurity increased as well.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: RI families in the upper income category received the CTC at the highest rate
                 (88%), followed by families in the middle income category (68%).




                    Key Finding 6: RI families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are South Carolina families using their Child Tax Credit
payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of South Carolina
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 67% of eligible SC families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 41% of SC families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 35% mostly saved their CTC, and 23%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible SC families experienced slightly
 among SC families were purchasing food for their family              lower rates of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went
 (44%), school expenses (33%), and managing bills (29%).              out.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
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                 Key Finding 5: SC families in the middle and upper income categories received the CTC at a
                 similar rate (71%), while 62% of those in the lowest income category received the CTC.




                    Key Finding 6: SC families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are South Dakota families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of South Dakota
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 73% of eligible SD families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 40% of SD families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 32% mostly saved their CTC, and 28%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible SD families experienced lower rates
 among SD families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (52%), managing bills (36%), and clothing costs (29%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
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                 Key Finding 5: SD families in the upper income category received the CTC at the highest rate
                 (88%), followed by families in the lowest income category (70%).




                    Key Finding 6: SD families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Tennessee families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Tennessee
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost two-thirds of eligible TN families           Key Finding 2: 48% of TN families reported mostly using their
 received the CTC.                                                  CTC to pay down debt, 29% mostly spent their CTC, and 24%
                                                                    mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible TN families experienced less
 among TN families were purchasing food for their family              moderate food insecurity after CTC payments went out, while
 (52%), managing bills (37%), and paying for clothing and             rates of severe food insecurity remained the same.
 other essentials for their children (33%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
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                 Key Finding 5: 79% of TN Asian families or families of a different race/ethnicity received the
                 CTC, as did 72% of Hispanic families and almost 60% of white and Black families.




                    Key Finding 6: Asian/other families were more likely to mostly spend the CTC than other
                    groups, while Hispanic families were more likely to mostly use it for debt and white families
                    were more likely to mostly save it




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Texas families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible Texas
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost two-thirds of eligible TX families           Key Finding 2: 43% of TX families reported mostly using their
 received the CTC.                                                  CTC to pay down debt, 35% mostly spent their CTC, and 22%
                                                                    mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible TX families experienced lower rates
 among TX families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out, as
 (50%), managing bills (39%), and paying for school expenses          many families went from severe to moderate food insecurity.
 (37%) or clothing/other essentials for their children (35%).




Social Policy Institute
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1
                 Key Finding 5: Regardless of race/ethnicity, eligible TX families received the CTC at similar
                 rates.




                    Key Finding 6: Black and white TX families reported using the CTC in similar ways, while
                    Hispanic families were least likely to report mostly saving the CTC and Asian/other families
                    were the most likely to report mostly saving it.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Utah families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Utah families
making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th,
covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 70% of eligible UT families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 37% of UT families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 39% mostly saved their CTC, and 25%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Food insecurity rates were largely flat among
 among UT families were purchasing food for their family              eligible UT families after the CTC payments went out.
 (45%), contributing to savings or investments (29%), and
 paying down debt (28%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: UT families in the middle income category received the CTC at the highest
                 rate (71%), followed by families in the highest income category (69%).




                    Key Finding 6: UT families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the middle and highest income
                    categories were more likely to report mostly saving their CTC payments.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Vermont families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Vermont
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 77% of eligible VT families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 45% of VT families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 30% mostly saved their CTC, and 25%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible VT families experienced much lower
 among VT families were purchasing food for their family              rates of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC
 (44%), paying for housing costs (25%), and managing bills            payments went out, as well as a large increase in overall food
 (22%).                                                               security.




Social Policy Institute
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1
                 Key Finding 5: VT families in all income categories received the CTC at similar rates (71%-
                 79%).




                    Key Finding 6: Roughly half of VT families in the low and middle income categories used
                    their CTC to mostly pay down debt, while those in the high income category were more fairly
                    evenly split in their usage of the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Virginia families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible families
making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th,
covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 70% of eligible VA families received         Key Finding 2: 37% of VA families reported mostly using their
 the CTC.                                                           CTC to pay down debt, 32% mostly spent their CTC, and 31%
                                                                    mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible VA families experienced lower rates
 among VA families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out, as
 (51%), managing bills (34%), and paying their rent/mortgage          families shifted from severe to moderate food insecurity.
 (29%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: Black VA families were most likely to receive CTC payments (74%), followed
                 by Asian families and those of other races/ethnicities (72%) and white (70%) families. Fewer
                 than half of Hispanic VA families received the CTC.




                    Key Finding 6: Black and white VA families reported using CTC funds in similar ways, while
                    Hispanic families were much more likely to report using their CTC payments to mostly pay
                    down debt and Asian/other families were more likely to report mostly spending the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Washington families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Washington
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 60% of eligible WA families received the            Key Finding 2: 42% of WA families reported mostly using their
 CTC.                                                               CTC to pay down debt, 31% mostly saved their CTC, and 28%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible WA families experienced lower rates
 among WA families were purchasing food for their family              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out.
 (53%), managing bills (36%), and housing costs (35%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
        Key Finding 5: WA Asian families or those of some other race/ethnicity and white families received the CTC at similar
        rates (63%-64%), followed by 55% of Black families. Fewer than half of Hispanic families received the CTC.




          Key Finding 6: Usage of the CTC was similar across different racial/ethnic groups in WA, though Hispanic
          families were slightly more likely to mostly save or mostly pay down debt with the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Washington, D.C. families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Washington,
D.C. families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 50.4% of eligible DC families received the          Key Finding 2: 59% of DC families reported mostly using their
 CTC.                                                               CTC to pay down debt, 25% mostly saved their CTC, and 15%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible DC families experienced lower rates
 among DC families were managing bills (51%), clothing costs          of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (49%), and purchasing food for their family (47%).                   went out. Overall food security increased substantially.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
How are West Virginia families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this brief, we use the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible West Virginia
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: Almost 70% of eligible WV families received         Key Finding 2: 43% of WV families reported mostly using their
 the CTC.                                                           CTC to pay down debt, 37% mostly spent their CTC, and 20%
                                                                    mostly saved it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible WV families experienced lower rates
 were purchasing food for their family (52%), paying for              of severe food insecurity after CTC payments went out, as
 clothing and other essentials for their children (39%), and          families moved from severe to moderate food insecurity.
 managing bills (38%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: Middle-income WV families were most likely to receive CTC payments
                 (78%), followed by higher-income (69%) and lower-income (67%) families.




                    Key Finding 6: Lower-income WV families were more likely to use the CTC to mostly pay
                    down debt, while middle- and higher-income families were more likely to mostly spend or
                    mostly save the CTC.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Wisconsin families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Wisconsin
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 70% of eligible WI families received the CTC.       Key Finding 2: 39% of WI families reported mostly using their
                                                                    CTC to pay down debt, 35% mostly saved their CTC, and 26%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible WI families experienced a lower rate
 among WI families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate food insecurity and a higher rate of overall food
 (49%), housing costs (32%), and managing bills (29%).                security after CTC payments went out.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: Those in the upper income category received the CTC at the highest rate (75%)
                 followed by those in the middle income category (71%).




                    Key Finding 6: WI families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving CTC funds.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2
How are Wyoming families using their Child Tax Credit payments?
Evidence from Census Data
Stephen Roll, PhD; Yung Chun, PhD; Laura Brugger, MA; Leah Hamilton, PhD
The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC
expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the
ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC.

In this research brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of Wyoming
families making less than $150,000 a year report using their CTC payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and
August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank accounts.

 Key Finding 1: 67% of eligible WY families received the            Key Finding 2: 39% of WY families reported mostly using their
 CTC.                                                               CTC to pay down debt, 27% mostly saved their CTC, and 35%
                                                                    mostly spent it.




 Key Finding 3: The most common uses of the CTC payments              Key Finding 4: Eligible WY families experienced higher rates
 among WY families were purchasing food for their family              of moderate and severe food insecurity after CTC payments
 (63%), managing bills (33%), and covering clothing costs             went out.
 (29%).




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
1
                 Key Finding 5: Those in the highest income category received the CTC at the highest rate
                 (83%) followed by those in the middle income category (57%).




                    Key Finding 6: WY families in the lowest income category were more likely to use their CTC
                    funds to pay down debt relative to other groups, while those in the highest income category
                    were more likely to report mostly saving CTC funds.




Social Policy Institute
Child Tax Credit Usage | September, 2021
2


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