Childcare Landscape Study - Flipbook - Page 63
Davidson County Child Care Landscape Study Results
6
The Average Center Pays Wages of $19.12 for Lead Educators and
$17.16 for Assistants, with Most Educators Earning Below the
Local ALICE Survival Budget Threshold
Across center-based programs, the average center pays early childhood educators an
estimated $18.15 per hour; with lead educators earning an average of $19.12 per hour, and
assistant educators earning an average of $17.16 per hour (see Figure 3).f In 2024, the
national median hourly wage for early childhood educators was $15.41.17 Although average
center-reported wages in greater Davidson County likely exceed the current national
median, wages in the local ECE workforce remain insufficient to meet basic needs or to
provide a comparable and competitive wage with local public schools, where first-year
certified pre-K teachers earn $35.57 per hour under the Metro Nashville Public School9s
2025 salary schedule.g,18
Figure 3: The Estimated Average Center Hourly Wage of ECE Educators in Greater Davidson
County, by Role
$19.12
$18.15
$17.16
Lead
Assistant/Rotating Assistant
All Educators
Source: Davidson County Child Care Provider Experience Survey. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, 2025. Notes:
Estimates reflect the weighted average hourly wage within center-based programs in the population (240 programs, excluding
6 Head Start programs). Directors reported wages within predefined ranges; midpoint values were used to calculate average
wages by role within each program. Program-level averages were then weighted by licensed capacity groupings to represent
the full population of centers.
f Average wages are estimated using the midpoint of reported wage ranges. Directors reported wages as hourly amounts;
the survey did not distinguish between hourly and salaried compensation; all wages were reported as hourly. Reported
values represent the average wage paid within responding centers and are summarized as site-average wages across
programs. See the online Methods Appendix for additional details.
g Metro Nashville Public School 2025 salary schedule can be found at
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 2026
https://www.mnps.org/careers/salaries-and-resources.
www.pn3policy.org
