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Data on Child Care and Early Learning in the United States

The Center for American Progress’ data dashboard allows users to explore national- and state-level data trends on a range of child care and early learning topics.

Read more and explore additional charts in the 2024 and 2023 summary reports.

  • Average hourly wage of HS preschool classroom teacher 1

    $25.86

    Average hourly wage of Head Start (HS) classroom teachers serving preschool-age children. Includes educators working in HS preschool and American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start (AIAN HS) preschool programs.

  • Average hourly wage of EHS classroom teacher 2

    $19.68

    Average hourly wage of Early Head Start (EHS) classroom teachers serving infants and toddlers. Includes educators working in EHS and American Indian and Alaska Native Early Head Start (AIAN EHS) programs.

  • Average hourly wage of HS preschool assistant teacher 3

    $17.53

    Average hourly wage of Head Start (HS) assistant teachers serving preschool-age children. Includes educators working in HS preschool and American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start (AIAN HS) preschool programs.

  • Average employment number in child care services 4

    1,061,967

    Average number of child care workers during the second quarter of the year (April–June).

  • Number of infants and toddlers served by EHS 5

    217,992

    Cumulative number of infants and toddlers served by Early Head Start (EHS) and American Indian and Alaska Native Early Head Start (AIAN EHS) programs, representing the actual number of infants and toddlers served throughout an entire program year. Calculated from EHS and AIAN EHS child cumulative enrollment, all ages eligible.

  • Number of children served by HS preschool 6

    525,570

    Cumulative number of preschool served by Head Start (HS) and American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start (AIAN HS) preschool programs, representing the actual number of preschool children served throughout an entire program year. Calculated from HS and AIAN HS child cumulative enrollment, all ages eligible.

  • Number of children served by MSHS (all ages) 7

    20,862

    Cumulative number of children of all ages served by Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs, representing the actual number of children served throughout an entire program year. Calculated from MSHS child cumulative enrollment, all ages eligible.

  • Funded slots for infants and toddlers in EHS 8

    180,596

    Funded enrollment of infants and toddlers in Early Head Start (EHS) and American Indian and Alaska Native Early Head Start (AIAN EHS) programs.

  • Funded slots for children in HS preschool 9

    532,614

    Funded enrollment of preschoolers in Head Start (HS) and American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start (AIAN HS) programs.

  • Funded slots for children in MSHS (all ages) 10

    24,680

    Funded enrollment of children of all ages in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs.

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Child Care and Early Learning: Explore State Data

Explore state data trends on a range of child care and early learning topics, including the child care workforce, Head Start program access, and state exclusionary discipline policies.

Read more and explore additional charts in the 2024 and 2023 summary reports.

Child Care and Early Learning: Explore the Map

Use the national map to explore data trends in child care and early learning variables.

Read more and explore additional charts in the 2024 and 2023 summary reports.

See The Data

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Endnotes

  1. Office of Head Start, "Summary Report," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Average hourly wage of HS preschool classroom teachers is based on the subset of classroom teachers working in HS preschool and AIAN HS preschool programs.
  2. Office of Head Start, "Summary Report," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Average hourly wage of EHS classroom teachers is based on the subset of classroom teachers working in EHS and AIAN EHS programs.
  3. Office of Head Start, "Summary Report," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Average hourly wage of HS preschool assistant teachers is based on the subset of assistant teachers working in HS preschool and AIAN HS preschool programs.
  4. Center for American Progress analysis based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics Survey, "All employees, thousands, child care services, seasonally adjusted," available at https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/CES6562440001 (last accessed October 2024). National-level employment estimates were averaged across April, May, and June to most closely match the time period during which state-level employment numbers were measured.
  5. Office of Head Start, "Program Information Report, Enrollment Statistics," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Total cumulative enrollment of infants and toddlers was calculated based on EHS and AIAN EHS programs. National counts are a sum of all state-by-state numbers reported and do not include separately reported enrollment numbers for territories.
  6. Office of Head Start, "Program Information Report, Enrollment Statistics," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Total cumulative enrollment of preschool children was calculated based on HS and AIAN HS programs. National counts are a sum of all state-by-state numbers reported and do not include separately reported enrollment numbers for territories.
  7. Office of Head Start, "Program Information Report, Enrollment Statistics," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Reflects total cumulative enrollment of children served by MSHS programs, which operate in some but not all states across the United States. National counts are a sum of all state-by-state numbers reported and do not include separately reported enrollment numbers for territories.
  8. Office of Head Start, "Program Information Report, Enrollment Statistics," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Total funded enrollment of infants and toddlers was calculated based on EHS and AIAN EHS programs. National counts are a sum of all state-by-state numbers reported and do not include separately reported enrollment numbers for territories.
  9. Office of Head Start, "Program Information Report, Enrollment Statistics," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Total funded enrollment of preschool children was calculated based on enrollment in HS and AIAN HS preschool programs. National counts are a sum of all state-by-state numbers reported and do not include separately reported enrollment numbers for territories.
  10. Office of Head Start, "Program Information Report, Enrollment Statistics," available at https://hses.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/auth/login (last accessed October 2024). Total funded enrollment of children served by MSHS programs was calculated using all eligible ages of children. MSHS programs operate in some but not all states. National counts are a sum of all state-by-state numbers reported and do not include separately reported enrollment numbers for territories.
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