State Child Care Rankings
Side-by-side rankings of every U.S. state on the child care metrics that most affect parents — minimum classroom ratios, required teacher qualifications, state subsidy access, state tax credits, and quality-rating coverage. Sources cited on every page; data dates noted so you can verify before citing.
Child-to-Staff Ratios
How many children one daycare teacher can supervise — every state's minimum for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, ranked against the NAEYC standard.
Last updated December 31, 2025
Group Sizes
Every U.S. state's maximum-allowed group size for infant, toddler, and preschool daycare classrooms, ranked against NAEYC standards. 9 states leave at least one age band unbounded.
Last updated December 31, 2025
Teacher Requirements
What every U.S. state requires of a lead daycare teacher — minimum credential, pre-service training hours, and annual continuing-education hours. Ranked by total training burden.
Last updated December 31, 2025
NAEYC Regulatory Gap
How far each U.S. state's minimum daycare ratios and group sizes fall below NAEYC standards. A composite gap index across six dimensions: infant / toddler / preschool ratios + infant / toddler / preschool group sizes.
Last updated December 31, 2025
QRIS Participation
Share of licensed daycare providers carrying a published quality signal (QRIS rating, NAEYC accreditation, or Head Start CLASS score) in the 39 states that operate a formal QRIS.
Last updated May 7, 2026
Quality-Signal Coverage
The share of licensed daycare providers in every U.S. state that carry a published quality signal — QRIS rating, NAEYC accreditation, or Head Start CLASS score. Sorted from most to least coverage.
Last updated May 7, 2026
Universal Pre-K
14 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia offer free, no-income-test pre-K to every 4-year-old. See the full state-by-state breakdown, including which states are income-targeted, limited, or have no program.
Last updated May 28, 2026
State Tax Credits
Which states offer a refundable, non-refundable, or no state Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCC) on top of the federal credit. 14 states offer refundable credits, 13 offer non-refundable, 24 offer no state credit.
Last updated May 28, 2026
Subsidy Waitlists
Which states have closed or multi-year child care subsidy waitlists in 2026: 2 states are currently closed to new applicants and another 10 have multi-year waits. Full state-by-state breakdown.
Last updated May 28, 2026
Subsidy Income Ceilings
How narrow each state's child care subsidy entry-eligibility cutoff is for a family of 4. Lower ceilings mean fewer families qualify, even when the federal CCDBG floor allows up to 85% of State Median Income.
Last updated May 28, 2026
Reproducible from public sources. See how Childery computes its state rankings for data vintages, inclusion rules, and reproducibility notes. Spot something out of date? Let us know.