Nearly half of Georgia kids lack nearby child care
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Almost half of Georgia families with young children live in a "child care desert" — a region with a shortage of licensed day care providers, according to a new analysis from the liberal Center for American Progress.
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 nationwide 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 of licensed providers.
Zoom in: In Georgia, rural areas and areas with a large percentage of Black and Hispanic residents or people living on low incomes are often, but not always, the most strapped, per CAP's analysis.
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By the numbers: Lack of affordable child care and child care provider shortages in Georgia lead to $2.52 billion in lost economic activity, according to a 2025 analysis by the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students.
State of play: The pandemic 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.