Childcare Landscape Study - Flipbook - Page 59
Davidson County Child Care Landscape Study Results
2
To gain insight into the workforce in greater Davidson County, the Policy Impact Center
developed and fielded a survey to all 246 reachable center-based child care programs in the
region during the summer of 2025. Of the reachable center-based programs, 47 percent
(n=116) responded to the Davidson County Child Care Provider Experience Survey (Child
Care Provider Survey) and provided sufficient information to be included in this analysis.
The sample used in the analyses is largely representative of the overall population of child
care centers in the region. Throughout this brief, we use survey respondent results (n=116)
to generate population-level estimates (N=246) to describe the center-based child care
workforce and operating conditions, providing a new and detailed picture of the child care
landscape across greater Davidson County.b
Background
High-quality child care supports positive child development as well as long-term education
and labor-market outcomes. Child care also enables parents to participate in the workforce,
generating broader economic and societal benefits as families become more productive and
financially independent, and as children build the skills that underpin long-term, higherskilled workforce participation.5
Families primarily experience child care as a private expense, and yet, the benefits of child
care extend far beyond individual households. These widespread benefits, however, are not
reflected in the market price of child care, producing systematic underinvestment in child
care programs and the ECE workforce.6
Across the United States, child care tuition is often more expensive for families annually
than in-state college tuition.7 Yet, the revenue generated from tuition is often barely enough
to cover the operating expenses of running a child care program.8 To keep costs low, early
childhood educators are paid below a living wage and have limited access to benefits such
as health insurance and retirement plans.9 As a result, approximately one in three educators
experiences food insecurity.10
Although demand for child care is widespread, the already high cost of care for families
with young children often limits programs9 ability to raise tuition without pricing families
out of the market. Because most child care programs rely primarily on private tuition
revenue, constraints on what families can afford to pay result in thin operating margins,
which in turn restrict resources for staffing, compensation, and other program investments.11
Educator compensation and benefits account for the largest share of child care operational
costs (see Brief 4 for more details on the estimated cost of high-quality center-based care in
greater Davidson County). Constraints in the tuition prices programs can charge parents
directly result in low wages for early childhood educators and contribute to a high level of
b To review the complete methodology and approach for the Davidson County Child Care Landscape Study, refer to the
online Methods Appendix.
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 2026
www.pn3policy.org
