State of Our Youth 2026
Chicago is a city of extraordinary promise, and the trajectory of our city is inseparable from the future of its young people—nearly 800,000 under age 25.
In 2025, 95% of youth told us they feel optimistic about their futures. That hope is powerful, but it cannot erase the barriers too many of them face, including poverty, violence, housing instability, and growing mental health challenges. These barriers are not abstract—they show up in classrooms every day.
Opportunity remains out of reach for far too many youth, especially those in Black and Latinx communities on the city’s South and West Sides.
Longstanding inequities and under-resourced systems, compounded by the pandemic and ongoing social, economic, and political pressures, continue to shape young people’s lives in uneven ways.
So, how are Chicago’s youth truly faring? For the second year, A Better Chicago’s State of Our Youth report brings together public data with the lived experiences of our city’s young people shared through surveys and focus groups, to examine both the interventions and investments driving positive change, as well as the challenges and barriers to youth success.