Child Care and Early Education Center-based Workforce: Counts and Characteristics

Publication Date: August 26, 2026
Child Care and Early Education Center-based Workforce: Counts and Characteristics: Cover Image

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  • Published: 2026

Introduction

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Research Questions

  1. To what extent are there changes in the number of the center-based workforce between 2019 and 2024? What data help us understand any changes?
  2. To what extent are there changes in center-based workforce health status between 2019 and 2024?
  3. To what extent are there changes in the number of the center-based workforce across center auspice, public funding, or age of child served between 2019 to 2024?

This book of tables presents nationally representative estimates of all workers in center-based child care and early education (CCEE) classrooms serving children age 5 years and under, not yet in kindergarten. Using data from the 2019 and 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE), the book of tables describes counts and percentages of workers, workers’ individual characteristics, and information about the context in which they worked. The book of tables also identifies statistically significant changes in the distribution of these characteristics among the workforce in center-based classrooms between 2019 and 2024 when corresponding 2019 estimates were available. 

Purpose

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The purpose of this book of tables is to present nationally representative estimates of the center-based workforce serving children age 5 years and under, not yet in kindergarten, using data from the 2019 and 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). 

Key Findings and Highlights

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Counts of Workforce

  • The number of individuals working as teachers/lead teachers increased to about 1,020,000 in 2024 from about 853,000 in 2019.
  • The number of individuals working as aides/assistants in 2024 was about 531,000. This was similar to the number of individuals working as aides/assistants in 2019 (507,000). 
  • Teachers/lead teachers represented a similar share of the workforce in 2024 and 2019 (65.5% in 2024 and 62.5% in 2019).

Personal Characteristics

  • The number of teachers/lead teachers with 5 to 10 years of experience (254,000 in 2024 compared to 173,000 in 2019) and those with 20 to 25 years experience (103,000 in 2024 compared to 56,300 in 2019) both increased between 2019 and 2024.
  • In 2024 about 25% of teachers/lead teachers reported their health as “fair” or “poor” (rather than “excellent” or “very good”), an increase from 17% in 2019. The share of teachers/lead teachers at risk of depression increased in 2024 to 16%, compared to 8% in 2019. The share of aides/assistants not  at risk of depression decreased in 2024 to 81% from 86% in 2019. 
  • Reported worker hourly wage increased for both aides/assistants and teachers/lead teachers between 2019 and 2024. The average hourly wage reported by aides/assistants in 2024 was $18.10, compared to $13.00 in 2019. Teacher/lead teacher average hourly wage increased to $20.00, compared to $16.80 in 2019.  Wages are not adjusted for inflation.

Center Setting

  • For-profit centers employed 701,000 workers in 2024, while not-for-profit centers employed 655,000 workers that year, and government-run centers employed 173,000 workers. The number of aides/assistants in for-profit centers increased, to 230,000 in 2024 from 178,000 in 2019.
  • More teachers/lead teachers were working in centers receiving at least two of the following public funding sources: public pre-K, Head Start, or Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) (331,000 in 2024 vs. 262,000 in 2019).

Methods

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This book of tables draws from nationally representative data collected in the 2019 and 2024 NSECE Center-based Workforce Surveys. The sample in each year comprised one or two classroom-assigned instructional staff members assigned to classrooms that served at least one child not yet in kindergarten from one randomly selected classroom from each center completing a center-based provider interview. Classroom assigned staff who could not be classified as teachers/lead teachers or assistants/aides were not sampled for the Workforce Survey. Because the workforce sample comes from the completed center-based provider interviews, data from the center interviews can be used in analyses of workforce data.  Due to survey non-response, not all center-based providers that participated in the NSECE have an associated workforce respondent. For this book of tables, 2019 tabulations use data from 5,192 workers, while 2024 tabulations use data from 7,311 workers.

Citation

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S Kabourek, S Bell, T Nwanne and A R Datta  (2026). Child Care and Early Education Center-based Workforce: Counts and Characteristics. Report No. 2026-007, Washington DC: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://acf.gov/opre/project/national-survey-early-care-and-education

This product was finalized and published after March 2026, reflecting ACF's updated approach in which some research portfolios were realigned to be embedded in the ACF offices that manage the programs. Consistent with this approach, this product was reviewed and approved by leadership of the Office of Child Care.

Related Documents

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Workers in Center-based Early Care and Education Classrooms in 2012 and 2019: Counts and Characteristics Workers in Center-based Early Care and Education Classrooms in 2012 and 2019: Counts and Characteristics | The Administration for Children and Families

Employment Experiences of the 2019 Center-Based Child Care Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Findings by Role, Education, and Certification Employment Experiences of the 2019 Center-Based Child Care Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Findings by Role, Education, and Certification | The Administration for Children and Families

Glossary

Center:
The term “center” refers to a center-based provider, which is an organization providing child care and early education (CCEE) services to at least one child age five and under, not yet in kindergarten, at a single location. Center-based providers offer care at least three hours per day at least twice per week, where parents are not present. A single provider may offer multiple types of CCEE services (for example, an after-school program and a pre-school). However, centers that offer only drop-in care, before or after-school care, or single activity arrangements are not included. Centers include private and public programs, such as preschools, faith-based nursery schools, day care centers, Montessori programs, Head Start centers, public pre-K classrooms in elementary schools, and many other types of programs. Center-based programs may be independent or part of a larger entity, such as a school district, a community service organization, or a chain.
Role:
Respondents to the Center-based Provider Survey classified the workforce respondent’s role as a lead teacher or instructor, a teacher or instructor, an assistant teacher or instructor, an aide, or something else. Responses were coded into three categories: aide or assistant teacher; teacher, instructor, or lead teacher; and other, which includes roles that did not fall into the two primary categories. Individuals identified as ‘other’ job categories were eligible for the workforce survey at the time of sampling, but may have been in new roles at the time of their survey participation.
Number of workers:
Indicates the number of classroom-assigned lead teachers, teachers, instructors, aides and assistants working with at least one child age 5 years and younger, not yet in kindergarten.
Age of children served:
The age group that an individual staff member serves is defined by the classroom/group from which he or she was sampled in the Center-based Provider Survey. We define the age group that a worker serves based on the age group of the worker’s classroom: Under age 3 (all children in the classroom are reported to be no older than 36 months at interview date); 3 through 5 years old (the youngest child in the classroom is at least 36 months and at least one child is younger than 72 months, not yet in kindergarten); Serves both (a classroom where the youngest child is under 36 months while at least one child is between 36 and 72 months, not yet in kindergarten). Age group categories do not take into account whether any school-age children may be present in the classroom or center in addition to children in one of these categories.