Center for the Study of Childcare Employment

Every day, approximately 2.2 million early childhood educators in the United States—predominantly women and disproportionately women of color—safeguard and facilitate the development of over 9.7 million young children. Despite their complex skills and significant experience, the historical and pervasive undervaluing of this feminized labor has entrenched severe economic insecurity within the field. Nationally, early educators are paid a median hourly wage of just $13.07—substantially lower than K–12 elementary school teachers ($31.80) and the broader U.S. workforce ($22.92)—resulting in a staggering 43% of early educator households relying on public safety net programs to survive. While historic federal investments via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided a critical temporary lifeline to bolster compensation and work environment standards, the expiration of this pandemic relief funding at the end of 2024 has brought the early care and education (ECE) system to a critical crossroads. This report tracks state-level progress across five essential policy areas—Qualifications and Educational Supports, Work Environments, Compensation and Financial Relief, Workforce Data, and Public Funding—emphasizing that state and local leaders must urgently enact systemic reforms and commit sustained public funding to reshape early childhood jobs, ensure racial and gender equity, and build a stable, high-quality ECE system.