DATA REPORT · UNITED STATES · SEPTEMBER 2026

US child care by state: prices, affordability and subsidy waitlists

What child care costs in your state, how much of a family’s income it takes, and where families wait for help paying.

By DaycareOnUpdated 2 min read

$13,128

Average annual price of child care

US · 2024 edition · 49 states and DC

Source

46%

Children under six living in a licensed child care desert

US · Center for American Progress, April 2026

Source

0

States where infant centre care meets the 7% benchmark

Lowest: Mississippi, 7.5% of a married couple’s median income

Source

Child care prices and waitlists by state

Child’s age

Infant centre care

$11,349

A year · about $946 a month · 40 of 50

Share of income

9.8%

Married-couple median income. Single parent: 29.6%

Subsidy waitlist

95,000

December 2024

Across states

$7,696–$26,343

Mississippi to Massachusetts

Texas: infant centre care averages $11,349 a year, or 9.8% of a married couple’s median income (29.6% for a single parent). The federal benchmark for affordable care is 7%. About 95,000 children were on the state’s subsidy waitlist (December 2024).

Prices are averages from state resource and referral networks, 2024 edition.

What stands out

Massachusetts is the most expensive state for infant centre care at $26,343 a year, and Mississippi the cheapest at $7,696. That is a 3.4-fold difference for the same service.

Infant centre care costs 3.4 times more in some states than othersAverage annual price of full-time centre-based care. Select a row to switch state.

Texas: infant $11,349, toddler $10,921, 4-year-old $10,225 a year.

$0k$5k$10k$15k$20k$25k$30k
  • · · · 29 more states
View the data as a table
StateInfantToddler4-year-old
Alabama$8,632$8,424$8,008
Alaska$12,107$11,304$9,883
Arizona$15,964$13,390$11,680
Arkansas$9,178$8,801$8,320
California$22,628n/r$16,665
Colorado$20,978$17,479$14,800
Connecticut$18,492$18,829$15,297
Delaware$16,617$14,668$13,218
District of Columbia$26,193$24,087$20,981
Florida$13,011$11,461$9,409
Georgia$11,066$10,537$9,573
Hawaii$24,115$18,852$13,992
Idaho$10,608$9,996$9,201
Illinois$19,807$18,736$17,238
Indiana$16,478$16,002$12,531
Iowa$12,694$11,729$10,100
Kansas$15,156$11,071$9,217
Kentucky$12,740$12,220$10,712
Louisiana$10,847$9,997$9,378
Maine$15,730$14,820$14,144
Maryland$25,321$22,594$15,601
Massachusetts$26,343$24,314$20,669
Michigan$13,454$13,555$12,246
Minnesota$20,421$18,042$15,733
Mississippi$7,696$7,254$6,864
Missouri$13,780$11,700$9,568
Montana$15,080$15,080$14,300
Nebraska$18,147$17,184$15,738
Nevada$12,659$11,442$10,605
New Hampshire$16,040$14,870$13,042
New Jersey$20,213$19,448$17,503
New York$20,439$18,661$17,343
North Carolina$12,370$11,694$10,381
North Dakota$12,299$11,580$10,869
Ohio$13,780$12,376$11,752
Oklahoma$10,809$10,060$9,415
Oregon$19,500$17,368$13,260
Pennsylvania$14,910$14,180$12,453
Rhode Island$18,486n/r$16,212
South Carolina$10,474$10,308$9,691
South Dakota$8,632$8,632$8,070
Tennessee$13,126$12,063$10,840
Texas$11,349$10,921$10,225
Utah$14,160$11,328$9,876
Vermont$18,710$17,988$15,877
Virginia$16,796$15,964$13,884
Washington$21,348$19,236$16,908
West Virginia$10,439$9,903$9,368
Wisconsin$17,963$18,239$15,039
Wyoming$12,784$11,897$11,229

Affordability

No state meets the federal benchmark of 7% of income. The lowest share for infant care is 7.5% of a married couple’s median income in South Dakota. For a single parent it runs from 23.1% in South Dakota to 62.2% in Massachusetts.

Infant care takes a large share of income in every stateAnnual infant centre price as a share of median family income.
Married coupleSingle parent7% benchmark
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%
  • · · · 30 more states

Right: married couple / single parent. Sorted by married couple.

View the data as a table
StateMarried coupleSingle parent
Hawaii17.9%49.0%
California16.3%49.5%
Maryland15.8%48.1%
Oregon15.5%46.7%
Nebraska15.1%43.2%
Massachusetts14.9%62.2%
Washington14.7%50.7%
New York14.5%50.0%
Illinois14.4%48.0%
Indiana14.4%45.9%
Colorado14.3%43.4%
Minnesota14.3%45.7%
Vermont14.0%43.4%
Wisconsin13.9%44.4%
Montana13.4%36.2%
Arizona13.3%36.2%
Kansas13.3%40.0%
Maine13.2%38.6%
Rhode Island13.1%47.2%
Delaware12.7%36.6%
New Jersey12.1%45.1%
Kentucky11.9%44.9%
Missouri11.9%34.5%
Connecticut11.8%42.9%
Tennessee11.7%40.5%
Utah11.6%31.8%
Florida11.5%31.6%
Pennsylvania11.5%40.2%
Virginia11.4%39.2%
Wyoming11.4%38.4%
Nevada11.2%32.0%
Michigan11.1%37.8%
Ohio11.1%40.0%
New Hampshire10.7%35.6%
Oklahoma10.6%34.2%
District of Columbia10.5%47.2%
Iowa10.5%32.1%
North Carolina10.5%34.2%
West Virginia10.4%34.8%
Idaho9.8%25.5%
Louisiana9.8%39.0%
Texas9.8%29.6%
Alaska9.6%25.8%
North Dakota9.4%34.5%
South Carolina9.4%29.5%
Georgia9.2%28.9%
Arkansas9.1%28.9%
Alabama8.0%29.3%
Mississippi7.5%28.6%
South Dakota7.5%23.1%

A different kind of waitlist

A subsidy waitlist is not a wait for a place. It means a family that qualifies for help paying is waiting for the state to fund it. Texas reported about 95,000 children (December 2024), and Indiana about 31,000. Counts come from different states on different dates, so they are not a ranking.

Where families are waiting for help payingChildren on state child care subsidy waitlists, latest count we found.

Enrolment freezes or pauses, no count published

  • Maryland: Enrolment freeze; the program grew from about 21,000 children in January 2023 to over 45,000 in 2025. From May 1, 2025.
  • New Jersey: Enrolment pause after a $30 million funding gap. From August 1, 2025.
  • New York: Waitlists reported by county. From April 2025.
View the data as a table
StateChildrenAs ofNote
Texas95,000December 2024About 95,000 children
Indiana31,000November 2025About 31,000 children, state dashboard
Oregon14,200November 2025Employment Related Day Care waitlist, open since November 2023
Virginia14,000October 1, 2025About 14,000, up from about 3,000 in August 2024
Colorado11,824November 1, 2025Ten most populous counties
Arizona9,542October 31, 2025Updated weekly by the state
Arkansas1,100September 2025More than 1,100 children
Marylandn/pFrom May 1, 2025Enrolment freeze; the program grew from about 21,000 children in January 2023 to over 45,000 in 2025
New Jerseyn/pFrom August 1, 2025Enrolment pause after a $30 million funding gap
New Yorkn/pFrom April 2025Waitlists reported by county

Supply

Price and waitlists are one side of it. The Center for American Progress found that 46% of children under six live in a licensed child care desert, and it publishes only a few states: from 5% in Washington, D.C. to 96% in Alaska.

Nationally

46%

of children under six live in a licensed child care desert

Rural communities

70%+

up from about 66% in 2018

Range across states

5%–96%

D.C. lowest; Massachusetts 21%; Idaho 83%; Hawaii 95%; Alaska 96%

What provider surveys add

Comparable provider waitlist data does not exist across states. Georgia’s 2025 survey found waitlists at 59% of centres and 43% of family homes. Nebraska’s 2024 survey found 74% of providers keeping a waitlist. Connecticut’s 2025 parent survey found 30% of families searching, waitlisted or both. Each uses a different population and definition, so we do not rank states on them.

Planning around price and waits

Ask each provider for the price of your child’s age group and schedule, the date you would need to apply, and any subsidy your state accepts. If your state has a subsidy waitlist, apply early, since the wait for help is separate from the wait for a place.

FAQ

Which state has the most expensive child care?
Massachusetts has the highest infant centre price at $26,343 a year, followed by Washington, D.C. at $26,193 and Maryland at $25,321 (2024 edition).
What is a subsidy waitlist?
It is a list of income-eligible families waiting for a state to pay part of their child care costs. It is different from a provider’s waitlist for a place.

Sources

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