ChildCareGap.org shares the most comprehensive child care supply data collected to date
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, in collaboration with Child Care Aware of America and the Bipartisan Policy Center, unveiled childcaregap.org, an updated resource that contains new data and analyzes the gap between the supply of legally operating child care programs and the potential need, demonstrating how child care shortages stall economic growth.
This interactive map is the most comprehensive child care supply data collected to date, and is the first to use a new, distance-based methodology to quantify the child care gap by factoring in the actual distance between existing child care spots and the homes of the children and families that need care. It reveals that there are potentially 4.2 million children without access to child care.
Broken down, that means that across the 50 states and Washington, D.C., 14.8 million children potentially need child care, but there is only a supply of 10.8 million child care slots, leaving the families of 4.2 million children without access—a 28% gap. The gap is more pronounced in rural areas, where 32% of children may lack access to child care.
“Understanding the problem is the first step to fixing the child care crisis in this country,” said Linda Smith, director of policy at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute. “Our failure to address child care isn’t just hurting families—it’s constraining our nation’s economic potential. We need comprehensive and multifaceted solutions. I hope this map will help lawmakers in every community, from Albuquerque to Zanesville, grasp the full scope of the problem.”
Additional analysis details the economic impact of the gap. For every child care slot parents need but cannot access, the economy loses between $52,000 and $79,000 each year. The 10-year economic impact could be as high as $329 billion, stemming from reduced workforce participation, lower productivity, decreased household earnings, impacts on business earnings, and tax losses.
The tool also models the impact of Head Start programs on child care access, revealing that without Head Start, nearly 655,000 children would lack access to child care within a reasonable distance of their homes, increasing the national child care cap by 15.6% overall and 17.9% in rural areas (for total gaps of 43.6% and 49.9% overall and for rural areas, respectively).
Key Findings
- Communities across the country struggle with gaps in service, but rural communities struggle most. The national child care gap is 28% or 4.2 million children. Urban areas have a child care gap of 27%, whereas rural areas have a gap of 32%.
- A loss of Head Start services would widen the gap in both rural and urban communities. The gap would increase by 17.9% in rural areas and 14.7 % in urban areas.
- Five states have a child care gap of more than 50%: Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.
Although the map is only as accurate as the data states collect, this new tool expands on earlier analyses and mapping from the Bipartisan Policy Center. The site allows users to search child care data by state, county, congressional district, state senate district, and by rural or urban designation, giving policymakers on the local, state, and federal levels a detailed snapshot of the child care needs in their communities at levels never before seen.
What They’re Saying
“Quality child care is the backbone of our nation’s well-being. Yet the updated child care gap analysis once again vividly shows just how fractured America’s child care system is,” said Susan Gale Perry, chief executive officer of Child Care Aware of America. “The good news is that we have solutions that work, and we can fix what’s broken by creating an enduring child care infrastructure as strong and widely available as the network of roads we rely on every day to get us where we need to go.”
“When millions of families lack access to child care, the effects extend far beyond the home,” said Cheryl Oldham, executive vice president of human capital at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “Businesses lose productivity, household incomes shrink, and our economy takes a hit. Investing in solutions to close the child care gap is not just good for children and families—it’s essential to economic opportunity for hard-working Americans.”
Methodology
The analysis defines supply as the number of slots offered by legally operated child care providers. The Buffett Early Childhood Institute collaborated with state child care administrators, Head Start, Tribal Nations, and the U.S. Department of Defense to compile information on the location and capacity of all legally operating center-based and home-based child care providers.
Child care potential need was based on data from the most recent American Community Survey. Data were geocoded and analyses were conducted to estimate the amount of child care access within a reasonable distance of where children in potential need of care live (3.5 miles for urban areas, 10 miles for rural areas). Additional details on the methodology used to calculate supply, need, and gap can be found at childcaregap.org/report.
Learn how the economic impact was calculated here.
About the Partners
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
The Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska is devoted to improving the development and learning of children from birth through age 8 through research, practice, policy, and outreach. We partner with colleagues across the University of Nebraska, the state, and the nation to ensure that all children and families have access to the quality early learning experiences they need to grow and thrive.
Bipartisan Policy Center
The Bipartisan Policy Center and its advocacy affiliate, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, are unique in their approach to addressing the nation’s most pressing issues. As the only organization working across the full political spectrum on domestic issues, BPC brings together diverse perspectives to craft data-driven, pragmatic policy solutions. BPC Action then works directly with legislators and other policymakers to turn those solutions into real change.
Child Care Aware of America
Child Care Aware of America is the only national organization that supports every part of the child care system. Together with an on-the-ground network of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) organizations working in states and communities, CCAoA advances high-quality, affordable child care and turns a patchwork of resources into a system that works for everyone.