Child Care Prices Rival Major Household Expenses; Supply Fails to Keep Pace with Demand

Findings underscore urgent need for federal and state action to stabilize and strengthen child care

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report from Child Care Aware^® of America (CCAoA), 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.

Child Care Prices Continue to Strain Families' Budgets
The national average annual price of child care remains high at $13,184 in 2025. This price takes up 10% of the median income in two-parent households, and 33% for a single-parent household. In all states with data, the price of care for two children in a center exceeds median rent, and in most states, exceeds mortgage payments. In the majority of states, infant care costs more than in-state public college tuition.

Across all four regions of the United States, center-based child care for two children is more expensive than in-state college tuition, transportation, food, and health care, forcing families to make difficult financial trade-offs.

Supply Trends Show Little Progress
The number of licensed child care centers declined slightly (1%) from 2024 to 2025—the first decrease after several years of growth—while family child care homes increased modestly (1.4%). Despite these small shifts, the overall picture remains unchanged: families continue to face significant barriers to finding care.

"Families are being asked to shoulder costs that rival or exceed their biggest monthly expenses," said Susan Gale Perry, CEO of Child Care Aware^® of America. "At the same time, the supply of care isn't expanding in a way that meets demand. That's not a sustainable system. We urgently need increased funding and investments to support working families."

CCAoA urges policymakers to increase child care funding at both state and federal levels to address stagnant supply, persistently high prices, and ongoing gaps in access for families. Federal investments continue to fall short. Only 15% of eligible children receive federal subsidies. State-level funding for child care and preschool varies widely—leaving children, families, and communities across the country on an uneven playing field.

"Without sustained and targeted investment in supply, in the workforce, and in stabilization we risk more than erosion of an already fragile system. We risk losing it altogether," said Perry. "Families deserve better than a child care market that grows more unaffordable and less available every year. This data is a call to act."

About Child Care Aware^® of America
Child Care Aware^® of America is the only national organization with an on-the-ground network that supports every part of the child care system. Every day our network is working to turn a patchwork of resources into a system that helps families work, supports children's healthy development and learning, and keeps our economy growing. Together, we can make America child care strong—and that makes everyone stronger.

SOURCE Child Care Aware of America