Child Care Statistics, Trends And Facts 2023

Child care is an essential service that helps working parents balance their responsibilities at home and work. As the demand for child care services continues to rise, so does the need for reliable statistics and data to help policymakers, providers, and families make informed decisions.

In this post, we’ll explore child care statistics that shed light on the current state of child care in the United States and beyond.

Child Care Stats

Table 1: Child Care Costs and Access

Data	Percentage/Amount
Working families spending more than $10,000 on child care	57%
Americans living in communities classified as child care deserts	51%
Average household income spent on child care	10%
Working parents who rely on child care centers	58%
Families with difficulty accessing child care unable to find an open child care slot	27%
Children under the age of five who cannot access a child care slot	31.7%
Cost of child care for family care center	$300/week
Cost of child care for child care or daycare center	$340/week
Cost of child care for a nanny	$612/week

Table 2: Mothers and Child Care

Data	Percentage
Mothers with young children impacted negatively	40%
Stay-at-home mothers who would enter the workforce	20%
Mothers who do not currently work would look for a job if they had better access to quality child care	20%
Working mothers who would look for a higher paying job	42%
Working mothers who would seek additional schooling or training	29%
Decline in employment of mothers due to child care	13%
Percentage of young mothers who work	69%
Percentage of Black mothers who are breadwinners	71%

Table 3: Child Care Usage

Data	Percentage
Infants and toddlers attending home-based child care facilities	29.5%
Infants and toddlers cared for exclusively by a parent or guardian	37.7%
Home-based child care that is unpaid	52%
Primary care experience for infants and toddlers provided by unpaid care	15.4%
Working parents with children under five using center-based child care	58%
Working parents not relying on outside child care	31%
Working parents relying on non-relatives for child care	25%
Working parents relying on relatives for child care	47%

Table 4: COVID-19 and Child Care

Data	Percentage
Child care slots that could be lost due to COVID-19	4 million
Parents with young children unable to work without child care	22%
Families who say child care is more expensive due to the pandemic	72%
Families who say child care is less expensive due to the pandemic	6%
Families who find it harder to access child care compared to pre-pandemic	46%

Child Care Enrollment and Access Statistics

1. In 2020, there were over 12 million children under the age of 5 in the United States, and 33% of them were enrolled in some form of child care program.
2. The cost of child care varies widely across states, ranging from an average of $5,125 per year in Mississippi to $22,631 in the District of Columbia.
3. In 2020, only 1 in 6 eligible children received child care assistance from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program.
4. In rural areas, families are more likely to face challenges accessing child care services due to limited availability and longer travel times.
5. According to a survey by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), 85% of families reported difficulty finding affordable, high-quality child care in their community.

Child Care Provider Statistics

1. In 2020, there were over 277,000 licensed child care centers and family child care homes in the United States.
2. Family child care homes accounted for 65% of all licensed child care providers, while child care centers accounted for 35%.
3. The turnover rate for child care providers is high, with an average turnover rate of 26% in 2019.
4. Child care providers are predominantly women, with over 94% of providers being female.
5. The average hourly wage for child care workers in the United States was $11.65 in 2020, and only 1 in 5 child care workers receive health insurance benefits from their employer.

Child Care Quality and Safety Statistics

1. In 2020, only 10 states met all 10 quality benchmarks for child care established by the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER).
2. Child care providers are required to meet certain safety standards, but only 23 states require annual inspections for licensed child care providers.
3. In 2019, there were over 21,000 child care-related injuries treated in emergency departments across the United States.
4. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on child care safety and quality, with many providers struggling to maintain health and safety protocols while continuing to provide care.
5. High-quality child care has been shown to have long-term benefits for children, including improved cognitive, social, and emotional development.

Statistic	Data
Cost of lost earnings, productivity, and revenue	$57 billion each year
Decline in employment of mothers with young children	13%
Percentage of mothers in labor force	Almost 70%
Percentage of mothers as sole or primary breadwinners	42%
Eligible families receiving subsidies	15%
Percentage of eligible 3 to 5-year-olds served	One-third
Percentage of eligible children under age 3 served	7%
Estimated lost wages due to lack of child care	$8.3 billion per year
Earnings difference after taking a year off work	40% lower compared to those who did not take time off
Reasons for difficulty finding child care	Cost (31%), lack of open slots (27%), and quality (22%)
Families not finding desired child care program	Did not use child care (64%) or used care from a relative (24%)
Income level affecting access to child care	Lower income families have more difficulty finding care
Annual cost of center-based child care for black family	42% of median income
Difficulty finding care for infants and toddlers	56% reported difficulty compared to 45% for preschoolers
Employed mothers who found a child care program	89% compared to 77% who did not
Effect on father’s employment of finding child care	No significant difference observed
Employment rate among single mothers finding care	84% compared to 67% who did not
Employment rate among mothers in two-parent households finding care	90% compared to 84% who did not
Changes mothers would make if they had better child care access	Look for a higher paying job (42%) and ask for more hours at work (31%)
Desire for better child care access among African American and Hispanic mothers	Over 50% would look for higher paying job
Stay-at-home parents and access to child care	Millions of women might join the labor force
Affordable child care enabling mothers to enter the workforce	1.6 million more mothers
Cap on child care payments	Capping payments at 10% of family income yields $70 billion annually and increases GDP by 1.2%
CCWFA to make child care more affordable	Limits child care payments to 7% of incomes on a sliding scale and enables an estimated 1.6 million parents to enter the workforce
Percentage of children in nonparental care	Approximately 59% of children aged 5 and under not enrolled in kindergarten
Percentage of children with more than one type of regularly scheduled weekly nonparental care	11%
Most common location for primary center-based care	A building of its own
Percentage distribution of quality rating of child care arrangements of children at about 4 years of age	By type of arrangement and selected child and family characteristics
Percentage of 3- to 5-year-old children enrolled in school	By age and selected child and family characteristics
Cost of child care as a percentage of monthly family income	Stayed constant at around 7% between 1997 and 2011

Child Care Workforce Statistics

1. The child care workforce is predominantly made up of women, with women accounting for over 90% of child care workers.
2. The average annual turnover rate for child care workers is 30%, with turnover rates even higher for workers in lower-paid positions.
3. Child care workers are more likely to live in poverty than workers in other occupations, with 15% of child care workers living below the poverty line.

Child Care Affordability Statistics

Affordability is a major concern for many families when it comes to child care. Here are some statistics that shed light on the issue:

1. In the United States, the average cost of full-time center-based child care for a child under 5 is $9,589 per year. (Source: Child Care Aware of America)
2. In 2019, the average cost of child care for a family with two children was nearly $22,000 per year. (Source: Child Care Aware of America)
3. The cost of child care can be a significant burden for families, with some spending as much as 36% of their income on child care expenses. (Source: Economic Policy Institute)
4. In a survey of working parents, 86% said that the cost of child care is a financial strain. (Source: Care.com)