A comparison of interstate child support guidelines with average amounts of uncollected child support
                Collections Arrears
  State Variance $510  $670  $1,279  $2,183  $4,583  on Arrears Rank
1 Indiana 163% 215 327 692 899 1462 9% 1
2 California 147% 236 278 478 770 1457 10% 2
3 Rhode Island 146% 252 315 480 677 1170 17% 15
4 Arizona 142% 275 275 486 652 1032 24% 30
5 Kentucky 142% 234 280 433 634 CD 25% 35
6 Alabama 139% 249 295 449 655 1060 24% 32
7 Virginia 134% 231 289 446 641 1042 36% 42
8 Maryland 132% 221 293 445 637 1017 18% 17
9 Georgia 131% 207 292 451 667 1052 52% 48
10 Colorado 130% 210 210 383 673 1607 19% 19
11 Nevada 129% 231 261 409 610 1066 13% 5
12 New Mexico 126% 183 291 468 588 1095 22% 25
13 Missouri 124% 200 180 375 660 1575 43% 46
14 South Dakota 120% 135 261 463 721 1186 0% 26
15 Louisiana 119% 112 267 452 710 1389 25% 33
16 Pennsylvania 118% 150 278 465 609 1045 28% 40
17 DC 118% 188 227 390 582 1195 22% 26
18 Ohio 115% 153 200 393 665 1422 0% 26
19 Florida 115% 149 265 447 609 1032 16% 9
20 Tennessee 111% 133 180 375 660 1575 27% 37
21 Michigan 109% CD 257 415 554 CD 42% 45
22 Kansas 107% 50 208 458 821 1495 16% 23
23 New Jersey 105% CD 75 782 628 1061 12% 3
24 Wisconsin 103% CD 137 471 789 CD 22% 28
25 Delaware 101% 128 141 468 657 1078 20% 20
26 Massachusetts 101% 52 290 437 619 1031 15% 8
27 Maine 99% CD CD 428 642 1025 28% 39
28 Utah 94% 100 100 470 610 1260 0% 26
29 Vermont 92% 122 166 345 566 943 18% 16
30 Wyoming 91% 171 171 295 415 801 62% 49
31 North Dakota 90% 105 200 348 519 882 13% 7
32 Oregon 89% 91 91 467 626 1157 21% 10
33 South Carolina 89% 58 183 463 574 1000 26% 36
34 Nebraska 88% 50 117 364 539 1742 63% 50
35 New York 87% 83 131 447 616 CD 49% 47
36 Minnesota 87% 109 147 298 517 1114 16% 12
37 Iowa 84% 73 159 343 587 1027 22% 27
38 Oklahoma 84% 50 50 641 641 1054 42% 44
39 Illinois 84% 68 126 356 582 1231 37% 43
40 Texas 84% 50 189 358 566 1047 18% 18
41 Hawaii 83% 50 50 424 667 1473 24% 31
42 Mississippi 81% 102 136 294 485 1020 17% 14
43 New Hampshire 81% 25 50 436 699 1548 21% 24
44 North Carolina 81% CD 150 305 475 1025 21% 21
45 Washington 80% 62 84 376 606 1228 35% 41
46 Idaho 75% 50 57 463 600 1012 24% 29
47 Connecticut 73% 50 50 390 677 1035 21% 22
48 Arkansas 72% 92 124 251 427 908 13% 6
49 Alaska 65% 38 38 312 546 1189 13% 4
50 West Virginia 63% 0 0 404 703 1198 17% 13
51 Montana 46% 6 15 261 456 908 16% 11
  mean   126 179 424 624 1175    
  median   111 180 435 628 1078    
  std. dev   76 91 96 92 220    

Source: Interstate Comparisons of Child Support Orders Using State Guidelines, Maureen A. Pirog, Marilyn E. Klotz, and Katharine V. Byers, Family Relations,July 1998, Vol. 47 Issue 3, page 289. Pirog's gross incomes converted to nets by Dissomaster (tm). "CD" means the amount is determined by the court. Ranking is obtained by combining each state's total percentage deviations from the median.

Overall correlation of guideline rank with uncollected support rank is .65.

Last Updated on 3/31/99 by Richard Bennett Email: richard@bennett.com