Rebecca Koenig Interim Senior Editorial Director | EdSurge Research
The number of home-based child care programs in the United States has increased for the first time in five years, according to a report by Child Care Aware of America. The report indicates a nearly 5 percent rise in licensed home-based child care options from 2023 to 2024, with 98,807 programs operating across 39 states.
This growth was largely driven by California, Massachusetts, and Virginia, each reporting more than a 10 percent increase in home-based care options. However, most states (29 out of the 39 with available data) experienced a decline in such programs.
Sandra Bishop, senior director of research at Child Care Aware of America, expressed concerns about whether these increases will lead to broader investment across other states. “I don't know of any talks at that level; you’d hope states would see the investment works, but it’s not clear if that would happen,” she said.
Bishop also noted potential challenges as Virginia's initiative supporting early childhood education is set to end this year. “Up until this point there's been a steady decrease in all states [for child care programs] so unless states do more, the reasonable thing to predict would be a continued drop,” she stated.
The report highlights rising costs for families seeking child care. Between 2020 and 2024, child care costs increased by 29 percent on average annually to $13,128. This cost now exceeds mortgage payments in 45 states plus the District of Columbia and surpasses in-state college tuition fees in 41 states plus D.C.
Child care remains most expensive in the Northeast at an average cost of $34,656 annually and least expensive in the South at $23,566. Despite high costs for parents, child care workers earn low wages averaging $33,140 per year. Bishop remarked on this disparity: “You have this situation of parents paying a lot for child care but [child care workers] are not making a living wage.”
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