Nearly half of families with young kids live in a "child care desert," new report finds
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Nearly half of American families with young children live in a "child care desert" — a region with a shortage of licensed day care providers, according to an analysis from the liberal Center for American Progress out Wednesday morning.
Why it matters: Quality child care is a crucial benefit for parents with jobs — most parents, in other words — and shortages are a financial and logistical headache for families and a drag on the workforce and economy.
- A lack of available child care leads many parents, particularly mothers, to simply drop out of the workforce, pushing some families down the income ladder and even into poverty.
By the numbers: Last year, 46% of children ages 6 and younger lived in an area where there are more than three kids per available licensed child care slot.
- That's an improvement from 2018, when slightly more than half of kids lived in child care deserts, per the analysis, which uses census data as well as state-level data on care providers.
- The change is likely partly due to a surge in pandemic-era federal government funding that has since dried up.
Catch up quick: CAP first started tracking this in 2016 and last updated it in 2020. It has become the go-to database on child care in the U.S.
State of play: Wednesday's release is the first update since the pandemic upended the child care system.
- The crisis led to an influx of federal funding that helped keep the industry afloat and prompted a few states to make permanent changes to support early learning.
Zoom in: The most remote rural areas are the most strapped — 70% of families with young children living in those regions face shortages, per CAP's analysis.
Where it stands: Some states and cities have invested in child care and are seeing results.
- In Washington, D.C., only 5% of families are living in a desert — the lowest in the country.
- The states with the lowest share of kids lacking access are: Massachusetts (21%), New Jersey (25%) and Nebraska (26%).
- The states with the biggest deserts are Alaska and Hawaii (96%) and Idaho (83%).
Between the lines: Child care is part of the private sector. But typical supply and demand market dynamics don't function as they do for other parts of the economy.
- Child care providers are limited in how much money they can charge families, who can't afford high tuitions and who may have the option of "free care" from a parent.
- That means day cares are limited in how much they can pay staff — driving more shortages.
- "It's a broken market," says Hailey Gibbs, associate director of early childhood policy at CAP.
Reality check: CAP is looking only at licensed providers and doesn't take into account informal care networks like family and friends or unlicensed helpers.
- The analysis assumes families want care that's close to home — 20 minutes or less. That privileges denser urban areas over remote regions.
- Some families may be OK with longer drives or arrangements near their workplace.
What to watch: Funding cuts embedded in the Trump administration's signature One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, as well as other proposals to reduce federal supports for child care, could exacerbate the problem.
- Earlier this month, President Trump said "it's not possible" for the federal government to pay for child care, while it's focused on military spending.
Go deeper: Search the interactive database.
