Childcare Workers Salary: $42,433 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 520,180 childcare workers nationally earn a mean of $42,433. Employment in the series shown rose about 26% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.1% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Childcare Workers: what the data shows
Common questions about childcare workers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a childcare workers?
Childcare Workers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 39-9011.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 520,180 workers.
What does a childcare workers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Assisting and Caring for Others, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Thinking Creatively, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a childcare workers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $32,050 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $42,433 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35,100 |
| 25th percentile | $37,054 |
| Median (50th) | $39,307 |
| 75th percentile | $46,804 |
| 90th percentile | $51,339 |
What education do you need?
For Childcare Workers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Monitoring, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Coordination, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Education and Training, Public Safety and Security. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is childcare workers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.1% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -5.4%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -10.6%.
Current U.S. headcount: 520,180.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do childcare workerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 520,180 | 17.5% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 420,010 | 14.1% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 315,010 | 10.6% |
| Social Assistance | 297,890 | 10.0% |
| Child Care Services | 277,100 | 9.3% |
| Educational Services | 237,800 | 8.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Childcare Workers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Childcare Workers workforce.
Employment Over Time
520,180 Workforce in 2023
The Childcare Workers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Childcare Workers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$42,433 Average Wage
In 2023, Childcare Workers earned an average of $42,433.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Childcare Workers.
Salary distribution for Childcare Workers.
Employment Growth Projections
-1.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
177,651 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -5.4%
167,996 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -10.6%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Childcare Workers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Childcare Workers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Childcare Workers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Childcare Workers.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.2% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Childcare Workers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Childcare Workers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 47,190 employees, $41,260 avg wage
- TX: 45,020 employees, $29,170 avg wage
- NY: 42,780 employees, $38,210 avg wage
- GA: 25,650 employees, $28,450 avg wage
- NJ: 23,680 employees, $35,880 avg wage
- IL: 22,540 employees, $34,560 avg wage
- FL: 21,790 employees, $34,610 avg wage
- MI: 14,760 employees, $30,940 avg wage
- PA: 14,410 employees, $29,510 avg wage
- VA: 14,150 employees, $32,130 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Childcare Workers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 46,800 employees, $38,370 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 19,120 employees, $40,210 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 16,910 employees, $35,090 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 15,600 employees, $29,790 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 13,060 employees, $29,510 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 11,350 employees, $31,060 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 11,290 employees, $37,350 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 9,650 employees, $41,600 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 8,340 employees, $33,190 avg wage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 7,290 employees, $35,350 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Childcare Workers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Childcare Workers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Childcare Workers in 2023 was 520,180 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Childcare Workers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Childcare Workers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Childcare Workers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Childcare Workers in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Childcare Workers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Childcare Workers workers.
Education level distribution for Childcare Workers.
Skills
Childcare Workers need many skills, but most especially Monitoring, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Coordination.
Required skills for Childcare Workers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Childcare Workers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Childcare Workers include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Education and Training, Public Safety and Security, Psychology.
Knowledge areas required for Childcare Workers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Childcare Workers include Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Childcare Workers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Childcare Workers.
Daily Activities
Childcare Workers spend their time on activities such as Assisting and Caring for Others, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Thinking Creatively, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information.
Most important work activities for Childcare Workers.
About
Childcare Workers
The average yearly wage for Childcare Workers was $42,433 in 2023.
SOC Code
39-9011 - Childcare Workers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Childcare Workers reports an average salary of $42,433.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 520,180 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -1.1%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.