Child Care in America: 2024 Price & Supply
Understanding the child care landscape is a crucial first step toward advocating for a stronger child care system.
Annual Child Care Landscape Analysis
2024 Child Care Supply: National Trends
Child Care Aware® of America’s (CCAoA) analysis found an increase in both the number of child care centers and the number of family child care (FCC) homes from 2023 to 2024. The increase in the number of centers continues a trend seen since 2020. However, the increase in the number of FCC homes reverses a downward trend that has persisted for several years.
Child Care Centers
The number of licensed centers totaled 84,592 in 2020 and 92,613 in 2024, in the 40 states with complete data. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of licensed child care centers increased by 1.6%.
Family Child Care Homes
There were 99,958 licensed FCC homes open in 2020 and 98,807 open in 2024, in the 39 states that had available data. From 2023 to 2024, the number of licensed FFC homes increased by 4.8%. This marks the first time in several years that CCAoA’s data reveals an upward trend in the number of licensed family child care homes.
Examining the data more closely, the supply of FCC homes dropped in 29 of the 39 states with complete data. Four states (California, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Virginia) each had an increase of more than 10% in FCC home supply. Six other states had smaller increases in FCC home supply (Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New York, Oregon, South Carolina). See the map below for more data on state trends in child care supply.
2024 Child Care Supply: State Trends
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Annual Price of Care
2024 Child Care Affordability
CCAoA found that the national average price of child care for 2024 was $13,128. That average was calculated by averaging three methodologies for understanding national prices for the 49 states and Washington, DC, for which we had price data.
- It would take 10% of a married couple with children’s median income to afford this national average price.
- It would take 35% of a single parent with children’s median household income to afford this national average price.
This is more than the current rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that child care should not cost families receiving federal child care subsidies more than 7% of their annual income.
Notably, each state’s child care landscape is unique and the national average price does not fully capture state and local nuances.
Household Budgets
According to CCAoA’s analysis:
- In 45 states plus the District of Columbia, the average annual price of child care for two children in a center exceeded annual mortgage payments from 0.05% to 78%.
- In 49 states plus the District of Columbia, the price of center-based care for two children exceeded median annual rent payments by 19% to over 100%.
- In 41 states plus the District of Columbia, the average annual price of child care for an infant in a center exceeded annual, in-state university tuition by 0.8% to over 100%.
- Child care professionals in a center earn an average of $33,140 per year. Depending on the state, it would take from 44% to over 100% of the average annual child care professional’s wage to afford center-based care for two children.
Inflation
Child care prices remain high for families. According to CCAoA’s analysis, the price of child care continued to rise in 2024. The five-year increase in child care prices from 2020 to 2024 is 29%. Over the same five-year period, overall prices rose by 22%, meaning child care prices grew by 7% more.
Regional Child Care Prices
The average price of care for two children exceeded average housing costs in three of the four regions – Midwest, Northeast and South. As in years past, the average price of child care for two children exceeds annual in-state university tuition in all four regions.
State Child Care Prices
Click on your state to see the full price of child care breakdown:
Calculating National Prices
CCAoA calculates a national price of child care by using three methodologies and calculating the average.
Recommendations
Every family deserves access to quality, affordable child care so they can work and provide for their loved ones. At the same time, every child in care should be in environments that are healthy, safe, nurturing, and support active learning. Investing in high-quality child care is good for children and their families, as well as our communities, businesses, and economy.
However, as CCAoA research shows, for most families across the country, such care remains out of reach due to high prices and limited availability. America’s fragmented child care system is failing everyone: children, families, the child care workforce, communities, and even our military. Solving America’s child care challenges requires a combination of policy levers and public investment that leads to the viability of the system long-term. To address this crisis, Congress must prioritize child care and early learning in its tax policies and federal funding decisions this year. In addition, states must step up and make child care investments and policy improvements.
With additional funding at the federal and state levels, policymakers across the country can implement strategies that are effective in bringing down prices and building access to child care, such as supporting ongoing operational grants, setting reimbursement rates that reflect the true cost of care, limiting family copayments, expanding subsidy eligibility for families, and investing in wages, benefits, and professional development for the child care workforce.
Many of these innovative policies have been implemented by states, especially with the availability of federal pandemic relief funding. Now it is paramount for both federal and state governments to build on this momentum and prioritize investments in child care moving forward. Without additional public investment and policy intervention, the current market is unable to meet the urgent needs of families and communities around child care supply and affordability. This hinders our children’s healthy development and ability for our communities to thrive.
