States with the highest QRIS quality-rating participation, ranked (2026)

Last updated May 7, 2026 · By Childery · How we computed this

39 U.S. states operate a formal Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) — the state-run star-rating program that gives parents a state-stamped quality signal beyond a license. Participation is voluntary in most QRIS states, which means the most parent-meaningful measure isn't "does the state have a QRIS" but "what share of providers actually carry a published rating."

This ranking shows the share of licensed daycare providers in each QRIS state that carry any Process-quality signal — a QRIS rating, NAEYC accreditation, or a federal Head Start CLASS score. A state at 90% participation gives a parent a near-certain chance of finding a published-quality signal on any provider they shop. A state at 5% means most providers carry no published signal even though the state runs a rating program.

Rank		Providers with a Process signal ÷ total licensed providers.
1	Kentucky	100.0%	1,405	1,405
2	Maine	100.0%	1,431	1,431
3	Oklahoma	100.0%	2,762	2,762
4	Virginia	99.2%	3,267	3,293
5	North Carolina	91.1%	4,621	5,072
6	Pennsylvania	83.8%	6,259	7,469
7	Arkansas	77.0%	1,421	1,845
8	Rhode Island	76.9%	660	858
9	Colorado	75.9%	3,449	4,544
10	Alabama	75.2%	1,813	2,411
11	Maryland	68.2%	5,034	7,376
12	Indiana	66.0%	2,717	4,115
13	North Dakota	65.5%	738	1,127
14	Wisconsin	65.0%	3,548	5,455
15	Louisiana	61.2%	1,720	2,809
16	Ohio	53.3%	4,335	8,126
17	Tennessee	52.5%	2,396	4,567
18	South Carolina	51.0%	1,239	2,429
19	Arizona	49.2%	1,337	2,716
20	Oregon	38.7%	3,014	7,787
21	Georgia	36.2%	2,866	7,918
22	New Mexico	34.5%	748	2,168
23	Michigan	33.3%	4,122	12,383
24	Washington	32.4%	810	2,498
25	District of Columbia	28.4%	130	457
26	Minnesota	25.5%	2,234	8,777
27	Nebraska	23.6%	1,098	4,654
28	Nevada	22.4%	253	1,127
29	New Jersey	19.4%	1,214	6,247
30	Florida	18.1%	2,141	11,828
31	Iowa	17.5%	573	3,276
32	New Hampshire	16.2%	122	751
33	Illinois	11.4%	1,050	9,184
34	New York	9.9%	1,699	17,142
35	Idaho	5.6%	74	1,327
36	Kansas	0.1%	4	3,896
37	Texas	0.0%	1	15,212
38	Utah	0.0%	0	1,347
39	Vermont	0.0%	0	1,059

Methodology

Participation is defined as having at least one Process-quality signal: a state QRIS rating, an NAEYC / NAC / NECPA / NAFCC accreditation, or a federal Head Start CLASS score. A provider needs only one of these to count. The denominator is Childery's ingested count of licensed, displayable (non-suspended) providers from each state's licensing portal as of the most recent ingestion cycle (May 2026).

This ranking is restricted to states that operate a formal QRIS — 39 states qualify per Childery's rating-system inventory. The 12 states without a formal QRIS (Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming) appear on the separate "Quality-signal coverage" ranking, which uses the same metric without the QRIS-state filter.

Reading the ranking: a high coverage % means a state's QRIS is well-adopted by providers. A low % usually means QRIS participation is technically voluntary and most providers haven't opted in — which is a fair criticism of voluntary QRIS design but not a verdict on the state's underlying quality.

For the full cross-ranking methodology — data vintages, inclusion rules, and reproducibility notes — see How Childery computes its state rankings.

Sources

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