Research edition: September 15, 2026 · Prices: DOL NDCP state medians (mostly 2022) · Wages: BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 39-9011)
This study pairs daycare worker wages with childcare / daycare prices by state. High childcare prices and high childcare wages often travel together — but not always. Across 49 states and D.C. with both figures, center-based infant weekly prices and childcare-worker median hourly wages correlate strongly (Pearson 0.8893). Still, the typical infant weekly price equals about 38% of a full-time childcare weekly wage equivalent, and several states sit well off the diagonal in rank space.
We pair the same federal price source used on our childcare prices by state page with childcare-worker wages from our OEWS wages by state table. Prices are what parents pay for one full-time infant center slot; wages are what employers report paying childcare workers (SOC 39-9011). Neither figure is profit, total labor cost, or a staffing model.
Primary sources: DOL Women’s Bureau NDCP state-level estimates workbook; BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates (file oesm25st). Year mismatch is labeled in the table.
What the gap shows
Among matched states, the median center infant weekly price is $230.00 and the median childcare hourly wage is $15.21. The median infant price ÷ FT weekly wage ratio is 0.381 (weekly wage = hourly median × 40).
- Highest ratios: Massachusetts leads at 0.587 — one infant’s weekly center price is about 59% of one full-time childcare wage equivalent.
- Rank divergence: Minnesota is 3rd-highest in infant center prices but only 18th in childcare wages. Ohio is 16th in prices and 33rd in wages. Those are the clearest “price without matching wage” examples in this edition.
- Overall pattern: Spearman rank correlation is 0.8932, so high-price states are often high-wage states (D.C., Massachusetts, California, Colorado). The finding is the exceptions and the size of the ratio — not that prices and wages are unrelated.
- Missing prices: Indiana and New Mexico have no usable NDCP center infant median in the state workbook; they appear in the wage columns only.
Top price-to-wage ratios:
- Massachusetts: ratio 0.587 ($461.55/week infant center price vs $19.66/hr wage, NDCP 2022).
- Minnesota: ratio 0.571 ($390.00/week infant center price vs $17.08/hr wage, NDCP 2022).
- District of Columbia: ratio 0.538 ($490.00/week infant center price vs $22.76/hr wage, NDCP 2022).
- Alaska: ratio 0.520 ($361.90/week infant center price vs $17.40/hr wage, NDCP 2022).
- Ohio: ratio 0.517 ($295.00/week infant center price vs $14.27/hr wage, NDCP 2022).
Largest positive rank gaps (wage rank − price rank; positive means more expensive-ranked than wage-ranked):
- Ohio: price rank #16 vs wage rank #33 (gap +17).
- Minnesota: price rank #3 vs wage rank #18 (gap +15).
- Oklahoma: price rank #30 vs wage rank #45 (gap +15).
- Nevada: price rank #21 vs wage rank #32 (gap +11).
- Georgia: price rank #34 vs wage rank #43 (gap +9).
Read the ratio carefully. Centers usually care for more than one child per worker under state ratio rules. A 0.50 ratio does not mean half of tuition goes to that worker, and it is not a profit margin. It is a state-to-state comparison of two official medians placed on a weekly scale.
Charts
State-by-state table
Sort and filter the matched comparison. State names link to our daycare startup guides. Ranks use only the 49 states/DC with both price and wage figures.
Showing 51 rows (51 states/DC; Indiana and New Mexico lack NDCP infant center prices).
| State | Price year (NDCP) | Center infant, $/week | Childcare wage, $/hour | FT weekly wage equiv. (×40) | Price ÷ FT weekly wage | Price rank | Wage rank | Rank gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2022 | $461.55 | $19.66 | $786.40 | 0.587 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 2022 | $390.00 | $17.08 | $683.20 | 0.571 | 3 | 18 | 15 |
| District of Columbia | 2022 | $490.00 | $22.76 | $910.40 | 0.538 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 2022 | $361.90 | $17.40 | $696.00 | 0.520 | 7 | 15 | 8 |
| Ohio | 2022 | $295.00 | $14.27 | $570.80 | 0.517 | 16 | 33 | 17 |
| Hawaii | 2022 | $365.77 | $17.80 | $712.00 | 0.514 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| Connecticut | 2022 | $350.00 | $17.63 | $705.20 | 0.496 | 9 | 12 | 3 |
| California | 2022 | $379.21 | $19.24 | $769.60 | 0.493 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Nevada | 2022 | $275.63 | $14.30 | $572.00 | 0.482 | 21 | 32 | 11 |
| Colorado | 2022 | $377.40 | $19.59 | $783.60 | 0.482 | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| Maryland | 2022 | $327.39 | $17.32 | $692.80 | 0.473 | 11 | 16 | 5 |
| Wisconsin | 2022 | $293.00 | $15.61 | $624.40 | 0.469 | 17 | 24 | 7 |
| New Jersey | 2022 | $313.73 | $17.49 | $699.60 | 0.448 | 12 | 13 | 1 |
| Washington | 2022 | $357.31 | $20.04 | $801.60 | 0.446 | 8 | 2 | -6 |
| Oregon | 2022 | $329.44 | $18.58 | $743.20 | 0.443 | 10 | 6 | -4 |
| Delaware | 2022 | $280.28 | $15.97 | $638.80 | 0.439 | 19 | 23 | 4 |
| Vermont | 2021 | $313.12 | $18.29 | $731.60 | 0.428 | 13 | 7 | -6 |
| New Hampshire | 2022 | $300.05 | $17.83 | $713.20 | 0.421 | 14 | 9 | -5 |
| New York | 2022 | $300.00 | $18.07 | $722.80 | 0.415 | 15 | 8 | -7 |
| Nebraska | 2022 | $243.75 | $14.78 | $591.20 | 0.412 | 24 | 28 | 4 |
| Rhode Island | 2022 | $289.59 | $17.76 | $710.40 | 0.408 | 18 | 11 | -7 |
| Oklahoma | 2022 | $215.46 | $13.33 | $533.20 | 0.404 | 30 | 45 | 15 |
| Illinois | 2022 | $278.33 | $17.23 | $689.20 | 0.404 | 20 | 17 | -3 |
| Arizona | 2022 | $270.00 | $16.88 | $675.20 | 0.400 | 22 | 20 | -2 |
| Georgia | 2022 | $205.00 | $13.47 | $538.80 | 0.380 | 34 | 43 | 9 |
| Pennsylvania | 2020 | $217.90 | $14.49 | $579.60 | 0.376 | 29 | 31 | 2 |
| Virginia | 2022 | $246.72 | $16.51 | $660.40 | 0.374 | 23 | 21 | -2 |
| Utah | 2022 | $226.27 | $15.21 | $608.40 | 0.372 | 26 | 25 | -1 |
| Tennessee | 2022 | $211.67 | $14.26 | $570.40 | 0.371 | 33 | 35 | 2 |
| North Dakota | 2022 | $213.81 | $14.56 | $582.40 | 0.367 | 32 | 29 | -3 |
| Missouri | 2020 | $214.94 | $14.80 | $592.00 | 0.363 | 31 | 27 | -4 |
| North Carolina | 2022 | $202.52 | $14.01 | $560.40 | 0.361 | 35 | 37 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 2022 | $198.93 | $14.26 | $570.40 | 0.349 | 36 | 34 | -2 |
| Louisiana | 2022 | $153.33 | $11.01 | $440.40 | 0.348 | 44 | 47 | 3 |
| Florida | 2022 | $225.00 | $16.45 | $658.00 | 0.342 | 27 | 22 | -5 |
| Texas | 2022 | $185.00 | $13.73 | $549.20 | 0.337 | 37 | 39 | 2 |
| Maine | 2022 | $230.00 | $17.47 | $698.80 | 0.329 | 25 | 14 | -11 |
| Montana | 2022 | $220.81 | $16.89 | $675.60 | 0.327 | 28 | 19 | -9 |
| West Virginia | 2022 | $167.49 | $13.32 | $532.80 | 0.314 | 39 | 46 | 7 |
| Alabama | 2022 | $136.01 | $10.92 | $436.80 | 0.311 | 48 | 48 | 0 |
| Iowa | 2022 | $165.98 | $13.66 | $546.40 | 0.304 | 41 | 41 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 2022 | $161.17 | $13.58 | $543.20 | 0.297 | 42 | 42 | 0 |
| Michigan | 2022 | $173.20 | $14.89 | $595.60 | 0.291 | 38 | 26 | -12 |
| Idaho | 2022 | $166.41 | $14.50 | $580.00 | 0.287 | 40 | 30 | -10 |
| Mississippi | 2022 | $118.68 | $10.60 | $424.00 | 0.280 | 49 | 49 | 0 |
| Kansas | 2022 | $157.33 | $14.06 | $562.40 | 0.280 | 43 | 36 | -7 |
| South Dakota | 2022 | $150.00 | $13.43 | $537.20 | 0.279 | 46 | 44 | -2 |
| Kentucky | 2022 | $151.30 | $13.90 | $556.00 | 0.272 | 45 | 38 | -7 |
| Arkansas | 2021 | $147.50 | $13.68 | $547.20 | 0.270 | 47 | 40 | -7 |
| Indiana | — | — | $14.51 | $580.40 | — | — | — | — |
| New Mexico | — | — | $17.23 | $689.20 | — | — | — | — |
— means unavailable (NDCP missing or not ranked). FT weekly wage equivalent is hourly median × 40 for comparison only. Annual tuition on related pages uses weekly × 52. Wages are OEWS May 2025 medians, not take-home pay or total compensation.
Use this for daycare planning — without treating it as a P&L
Prospective owners can use the ratio and ranks as market context: where parent price levels sit relative to the childcare wage floor employers report. Local tuition, staffing ratios, occupancy, rent, and insurance still dominate a real business plan.
- Compare parent price levels on our childcare prices by state study and supply context on childcare availability by state.
- For housing cost vs tuition (a different pairing), see how rents compare with childcare prices.
- For eligibility-threshold context, see childcare costs against HUD income limits.
- For hours of service wages needed to cover Fair Market Rent (labor vs housing), see hours of wage needed to cover Fair Market Rent.
- See the broader wage table (including childcare) at service business wages by state.
- For industry structure and demand framing, read daycare industry statistics and the national how to start a daycare hub (each state name in the table links to that state’s guide).
- Labor cost is only one risk line. For coverage types and quote prep — separate from this wage/price comparison — see daycare business insurance.
Download, methods, and limitations
Download the state table (CSV) ·
Scatter chart (PNG) ·
Ratio chart (PNG) ·
Rank-gap chart (PNG)
Sources. Parent prices: DOL Women’s Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices: State-Level Estimates and Affordability Rankings 2022 (XLSX), fields MEDIAN_INFANT_PRICE / MEDIAN_PRESCHOOL_PRICE for center and family settings. We use each state’s latest year with a published center infant median (45 jurisdictions in 2022; Arkansas and Vermont 2021; Missouri and Pennsylvania 2020). Worker wages: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates, Childcare Workers SOC 39-9011, median hourly and annual wages — the same occupation column as our wages-by-state page.
Constructed metrics. FT weekly wage equivalent = hourly median × 40. Price-to-wage ratio = center infant weekly price ÷ that weekly equivalent. Rank gap = wage rank − price rank among the 49 matched states (1 = highest). Annualized helpers in the CSV use weekly × 52, matching our childcare-prices page convention.
Limitations. NDCP observation years and OEWS May 2025 are different periods; dollars are nominal and not inflation-adjusted. Prices are not operator revenue. Wages are not total labor cost (taxes, benefits, overtime, substitutes) and not owner income. The ratio is not a staffing ratio, break-even, or profit measure. OEWS covers wage/salary workers in the occupation sample — not every daycare job title and not most self-employed owners. Missing NDCP cells are unavailable, not zero. Indiana and New Mexico lack usable center infant medians in this workbook.
Primary links: NDCP 2022 state-level XLSX; NDCP program page; OEWS tables. Official workbook and OEWS excerpt archived with this study. Source files checked September 15–16, 2026. Analysis by StartBusinessByState.com.
Cite this study: StartBusinessByState.com, “Daycare Worker Wages vs Parent Prices by State,” September 15, 2026. Analysis of DOL NDCP state medians and BLS OEWS May 2025 childcare-worker wages. When quoting a ratio or rank gap, retain both source years and link to this page.
FAQ
Does a high ratio mean daycare is more profitable there?
No. The ratio compares one infant’s weekly parent price with one worker’s weekly wage equivalent. It ignores group size, other staff, rent, food, insurance, subsidies, and occupancy. Higher ratios can coincide with higher operating costs.
Why mix 2022 prices with 2025 wages?
Those are the latest aligned federal editions available for this pairing. We label both years rather than splicing incompatible vintages silently or inventing inflation adjustments.
Is this a ranking of the best states to open a daycare?
No. It measures how parent price medians sit next to childcare wage medians. Licensing, demand, real estate, and insurance differ by market; start from the state daycare guide linked in the table.
Which state has the most expensive daycare?
On this page’s matched table (NDCP center infant weekly medians, mostly 2022), the District of Columbia is highest at $490.00/week, then Massachusetts ($461.55) and Minnesota ($390.00). Indiana and New Mexico are unmatched for infant center prices. Price year ≠ OEWS May 2025 wage year — see Methods.
Which state pays daycare workers the most?
Among matched states, the District of Columbia has the highest childcare-worker median hourly wage at $22.76 (OEWS May 2025, SOC 39-9011), followed by Washington ($20.04) and Massachusetts ($19.66). Wages are occupation medians, not full industry payroll.
Which state has the most affordable daycare?
Mississippi has the lowest center infant weekly median among matched states at $118.68 (mostly 2022), then Alabama ($136.01) and Arkansas ($147.50). Affordable tuition medians ≠ low operating costs or easy licensing.