Introduction
Research Questions
- How many children under age 3 participated in any regular CCEE and in each of five specific types of CCEE in 2019 and 2024? How many children ages 3 through 5 participated in any CCEE and in each of five specific types of CCEE in 2019 and 2024?
- How many children under age 3 participated in CCEE across household and community characteristics (household income, number of resident parents, parental work status, community poverty density, community urbanicity, and parental availability during non-standard hours) in 2019 and 2024?
- How many children ages 3 through 5 participated in CCEE across household and community characteristics (household income, number of resident parents, parental work status, community poverty density, community urbanicity, and parental availability during non-standard hours) in 2019 and 2024?
Child care and early education plays a critical role for young children and working parents in the U.S. In 2024, approximately 11 million children not yet age-eligible for kindergarten participated in some form of CCEE on a regular basis (at least five hours weekly). These child care arrangements included paid and unpaid individual care, center-based care, and other organizational CCEE.
This book of tables presents nationally representative estimates of children’s participation in CCEE using data from the 2019 and 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). This book of tables describes counts of children not yet age-eligible for kindergarten participating in any CCEE and in each of five types of care: Center-based child care and early education (CCEE); Individual, paid, no prior relationship; Individual, paid, prior relationship; Individual, unpaid; and Other organizational child care and early education (CCEE). Estimates of participation in CCEE for children are provided for children by age—under age 3 and ages 3 through 5—and by different household and community characteristics. The book of tables also identifies statistically significant changes between 2019 and 2024 as well as statistically significant differences between the usage of any regular care by demographic subgroups in 2024.
Purpose
This book of tables presents nationally representative estimates of children under age 3 and children ages 3 through 5 participating in regular CCEE by type of care and by household and community characteristics. The estimates are based on 2019 NSECE and 2024 NSECE data.
Key Findings and Highlights
- In 2024, there were 11.0 million children under age 3, of whom 5.8 million (53.2%) participated in a regular CCEE arrangement (defined as having spent at least 5 hours weekly in non-parental care).
- In 2024, there were 10.1 million children ages 3 through 5, of whom 7.0 million (69.3%) participated in a regular CCEE arrangement.
- In 2024, children under age 3 in regular care participated in individual unpaid care at higher rates (24.4%) than any other regular type of care. By contrast, children ages 3 through 5 in regular care participated in center-based care at higher rates (42.1%) than any other regular type of care.
- From 2019 to 2024, the percentage of children under age 3 with at least one regular CCEE provider increased from 48.6% in 2019 to 53.2% in 2024 and the percentage of children under age 3 participating in center-based CCEE increased from 14.3% in 2019 to 18.2% in 2024.
Methods
This book of tables draws from data collected in the 2019 and 2024 NSECE Household Surveys. The 2019 NSECE Household Survey was fielded between January and July 2019 and the 2024 NSECE Household Survey was fielded between January and November 2024. The household survey respondent was a parent or guardian of a child or children under age 13 in households with at least one member child under age 13. Children in this analysis were under age 60 months in the September prior to the interview—this being September 1, 2018 for 2019 data and September 1, 2023 for the majority of 2024 data. For the 2024 NSECE, children whose parents were interviewed during fall 2024 use the age under 60 months as of September 1, 2024. This book of tables focuses on children who are not yet age-eligible for kindergarten as of the start of the school year. For this book of tables, 2019 tabulations use data from about 7,270 children and 2024 tabulations use data from about 4,800 children.
Citation
I M Ventura, T Tran, S Bell, J Rev, A Ryckaert, A R Datta (2026). Children’s Participation in Child Care and Early Education: Counts and Characteristics. Report No 2026-020. Washington DC: Administration for Children and Families, US 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
Chartbook: Children’s Participation in Child Care and Early Education in 2012 and 2019: Counts and Characteristics
https://acf.gov/opre/report/childrens-participation-child-care-and-early-education-2012-and-2019-counts-and
Early Care and Education Usage and Households’ Out-of-Pocket Costs: Tabulations from the National Survey of Early Care and Education (2012 NSECE)
https://acf.gov/opre/report/early-care-and-education-usage-and-households-out-pocket-costs-tabulations-national
Glossary
- Regular Child Care and Early Education:
- Non-parental child care and early education (CCEE) occurring at least 5 hours/week.
- Center-based Child Care and Early Education:
- Includes all Head Starts, public pre-Ks, community-based child care, or any other care provided in a non-residential setting that is not drop-in, single activity, or before/after school care and occurs at least 5 hours weekly.
- Individual, Paid, No Prior Relationship:
- An individual with whom the respondent had no prior personal relationship receives payment for caring for the child and cares for the child at least 5 hours weekly.
- Individual, Paid Prior Relationship:
- An individual with whom the respondent had a prior personal relationship receives payment for caring for the child and cares for the child at least 5 hours weekly.
- Individual, Unpaid:
- An individual who does not receive payment for caring for the child but provides care at least 5 hours weekly. The individual may or may not have a prior personal relationship with the respondent, although in almost all cases there was such a prior relationship.
- Other Organizational Child Care and Early and Education::
- This type of care includes any regular organizational care that occurs at least 5 hours weekly but is not included in center-based CCEE above, including drop-in, single-activity, and before/after school wrap-around care. For example, children in a preschool located in a private or public elementary school may participate in the school’s before/after care program outside of the preschool’s scheduled hours of activity.
- Age at usage:
- Age at usage is the child’s age for when CCEE usage was reported. We use the term age at usage instead of age at interview to acknowledge differences in the questionnaires administered during the winter and spring, the summer, and the new school year (fall). Children represented in this analysis were not yet age-eligible for kindergarten at the time of reported CCEE usage.
- Under age 3:
- Children less than age 36 months at time of reported CCEE usage during interview.
- Ages 3 through 5:
- Children at least age 36 months and up to 71 months (age 5 and 11 months) at time of reported CCEE usage, and not age-eligible for kindergarten as of the start of the prior school year.