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Child Care Businesses in the United States

Counts of child day care businesses, workers and payroll by state and county from the U.S. Census Bureau

Centers with employees (2023)
82,162
Child care workers
1.05 million
At centers with employees
Average yearly pay
$29,700
Payroll per worker
Self-employed providers (2024)
537,849
No paid employees

Child care businesses per 10,000 residents

Centers with employees plus self-employed providers. Select a state for its counties.

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Child care by state

Swipe the table sideways to see more columns.

StateCentersWorkersAverage paySelf-employedPer 10,000
Alabama98812,163$25,8805,86513.5
Alaska1731,902$32,91094715.2
Arizona96513,790$31,1209,12413.7
Arkansas72811,708$25,9804,01215.5
California9,67089,288$37,32096,20326.9
Colorado1,23916,720$34,0906,88813.9
Connecticut94816,532$31,2106,73721.2
Delaware3494,928$28,19084511.7
District of Columbia3034,282$41,67092118.0
Florida4,65164,646$28,76034,30017.4
Georgia2,44940,515$26,04019,54420.1
Hawaii2672,885$33,7007537.1
Idaho5044,786$24,2401,77011.8
Illinois3,13842,273$33,36027,24323.9
Indiana1,43515,909$26,2308,53214.5
Iowa89513,051$21,2007,31025.6
Kansas5838,230$24,1905,07219.2
Kentucky92512,432$23,5804,69312.4
Louisiana1,04013,400$23,0808,61720.9
Maine6745,236$30,3501,49315.6
Maryland1,50520,056$31,79010,39119.2
Massachusetts2,30932,471$36,2408,73815.7
Michigan2,09024,365$26,84014,33816.3
Minnesota1,47320,373$29,9909,44219.0
Mississippi8089,884$22,8907,49028.2
Missouri1,46318,768$27,9108,00115.3
Montana4883,364$24,6501,15914.7
Nebraska7399,534$23,3504,10024.5
Nevada4005,958$29,3405,25217.7
New Hampshire4475,465$29,39094410.0
New Jersey2,46641,650$30,39013,96817.6
New Mexico4496,521$31,9701,67310.0
New York6,70284,613$34,56043,64025.4
North Carolina2,61235,736$27,67012,06813.7
North Dakota3743,915$23,2801,84128.2
Ohio2,81337,950$25,97016,06016.0
Oklahoma1,05512,353$25,1504,94614.9
Oregon1,51713,335$33,9905,28116.0
Pennsylvania3,82346,742$28,53010,96111.4
Rhode Island2794,032$29,8101,56816.8
South Carolina1,04213,611$27,0907,37515.9
South Dakota2804,004$22,2201,93824.4
Tennessee1,24216,838$24,96010,34216.4
Texas6,24291,240$25,94050,77818.9
Utah7457,760$24,5503,71713.2
Vermont2722,780$32,06091418.3
Virginia1,97727,909$28,46012,53916.7
Washington2,38622,898$35,2208,07513.4
West Virginia4075,031$23,6601,92913.1
Wisconsin1,58819,025$28,5806,78514.2
Wyoming2452,195$24,72072716.7

Centers are child day care businesses with paid employees (County Business Patterns, 2023). Self-employed providers have no employees and are mostly family child care homes (Nonemployer Statistics, 2024).

Frequently asked questions

How many child care centers are in the U.S.?
There were 82,162 child day care businesses with paid employees in 2023, with 1,045,052 workers and $31 billion in yearly payroll.
How many home child care providers are there?
The Census Bureau counted 537,849 child day care businesses with no paid employees in 2024. Most are family child care homes run by one person.
Why are there no daycare names or addresses here?
Many child care providers operate in private homes, so we publish counts by state and county only. For licensed providers near you, use your state's official child care search or childcare.gov.
What counts as child day care?
The Census Bureau counts businesses in industry 624410, Child Day Care Services: day care centers, preschools, Head Start centers and nursery schools, plus before and after school programs. Elementary schools and babysitting in a child's own home are not included.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns and Nonemployer Statistics (NAICS 624410) · 2023 and 2024 data