Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply
Understanding the child care landscape is a crucial first step toward advocating for a stronger child care system.
Table of content
Our latest report, Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply, finds that the nation’s child care system made little progress in 2025, with supply failing to keep pace with families’ needs and prices remaining out of reach for too many families. CCAoA’s latest analysis of child care supply and prices across the country highlights a system under strain, and many families continue to be forced to make trade-offs between financial stability and workforce participation.
Read the Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply press release.Child Care Supply
2025 National Trends
Child Care Aware® of America’s (CCAoA) analysis found a small decrease in the number of child care centers from 2024 to 2025, and a small increase in the number of family child care homes. The decrease in center supply reverses an upward trend that has persisted for several years. The increase in family child care home supply continues a trend seen in 2024.
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2025 State Trends
Child Care Centers
Looking at state data, between 2024 and 2025, the supply of licensed centers decreased in 26 of the 43 (60%) states with complete data. Year-over-year changes were small (under 6%) and combined to the overall decrease of 1% nationwide.
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Percent Change in Number of Centers 2024-2025
Family Child Care Homes
Looking at family child care homes, the supply increased in just 7 of the 42 (17%) states with complete data. That means the 1.4% nationwide increase in family child care homes was driven by just these seven states (CA, MA, NY, NC, OK, OR, and VA).
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Percent Change in Number of Family Child Care Homes 2024-2025
State Child Care Supply and Capacity
The map below shows the number of programs, for both centers and family child care homes, and the number of seats in each program type, for each state. Use the drop down menu to select the category, and hover over each state to view the data. To download a State Fact Sheet, select that option from the drop down menu and click the link to download a PDF.
Annual Price and Affordability of Child Care
2025 National Price
CCAoA found that the national average annual price of child care in 2025 was $13,184. That figure was calculated by averaging three methods for understanding national prices, based on the 47 states for which we had price data. (See below for details on the methods).
National Child Care Price vs. Inflation
According to CCAoA’s analysis, the national price of child care rose again in 2025, to $13,184 (up from $13,128 in 2024). From 2021 to 2025, child care prices increased by 23%. Over the same five-year period, overall prices rose by 24%, meaning child care prices increased at a rate that was close to inflation.
State Child Care Prices
State Child Care Prices vs. Household Expenses
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The graphic below shows average annual child care prices by age (infant, toddler, 4-year-old) and setting (center, family child care home).
The map below shows the average annual price for infant care in a center, and percentage of a married couple’s income it would take to pay this price. Use the drop down menu to select the category, and hover over each state to view the data. To download a State Fact Sheet, select that option from the drop down menu and click the link to download a PDF.
Regional Child Care Prices
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Method for Calculating National Average Annual Price of Child Care
CCAoA calculates the national average price of child care by using three methods and calculating the average of those results.
Method 1: Average of Averages
The first method is an average of averages. This method does not take into account either child care type or the number of child care spaces reported by states. This method ignores differences in the child care landscape among states and weighs all states equally in the calculations. This table shows the outcome of Method 1:
Method 1: Average of Averages
|
Age group |
Center |
FCC Home |
|
Infants |
$15,636 |
$11,673 |
|
4-year-olds |
$12,555 |
$10,572 |
Overall Average: $12,609
Method 2: Average of Space-Weighted Averages
The second method is an average weighted by the number of licensed child care spaces reported by each state for each age group. However, not all states reported capacity by age group and program type. In those instances, ratios of each capacity by age group or by program type were applied according to the approximate number of spaces by age group, and by program type. Using these calculated estimates for the number of spaces by age group and program type, average prices were weighted and compiled to produce the overall average. This table shows the outcome of Method 2:
Method 2: Average of Space-Weighted Averages
|
Age group |
Center |
FCC Home |
|
Infants |
$15,015 |
$13,834 |
|
4-year-olds |
$12,165 |
$12,178 |
Overall Average: $13,298
Method 3: Average of Program-Weighted Averages
In the third method, an overall average price, by age group, was calculated by weighting state child care price averages by the number of programs by type (i.e., centers, family child care homes). Most states reported the number of programs incorporated into their average child care prices, so this method required much less approximation for comparable weighting. This table shows the outcome of Method 3:
Method 3: Average of Program-Weighted Averages
|
Age group |
Center |
FCC Home |
|
Infants |
$15,728 |
$12,336 |
|
4-year-olds |
$12,470 |
$14,045 |
Overall Average: $13,644
Policy Recommendations
A strong child care system requires sustained federal and state investment so families can access affordable, high-quality care and providers can remain financially stable. For many families, child care remains out of reach because of limited supply and high prices that strain household budgets. Policymakers should prioritize long-term funding strategies that strengthen the child care system.
Child care investments and policy changes should improve affordability for families and support sustainable supply. The cost of providing high-quality, safe, reliable care continues to rise, and without adequate funding, many providers must increase tuition, reduce enrollment, or limit services. Increased investment and policy change can stabilize programs, lower family costs, and support recruitment and retention in the early childhood workforce.
With increased federal and state investment, states can expand proven approaches to lower child care prices and increase access, including operational grants, facility improvements, reimbursement rates aligned with the true cost of care, lower family copayments, broader subsidy eligibility, and stronger compensation, benefits, and professional development for providers.
Many states have already adopted child care policies that improve affordability and expand access, and federal and state governments should build on that momentum.
A well-funded child care system is essential for children, families, and economic stability. Reliable, affordable care helps parents participate in the workforce and supports children’s long-term educational and developmental outcomes. Policymakers should prioritize sustained child care funding and policy changes to support children, families, communities, and the workforce.
Learn more about CCAoA’s federal and state policy recommendations.
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