Childcare Landscape Study - Flipbook - Page 93
Davidson County Child Care Landscape Study Results
5
High-Quality Infant Care Is the Most Expensive Because Low Educator-to-Child
Ratios and Smaller Maximum Group Sizes Require More Educators Per Infant
Educator-to-child ratios vary widely across child age groups. For example, in Tennessee,
ratios and group size limits allow two educators to serve up to eight infants in one class,
compared to a preschool class in which two educators can serve 20 preschoolers.12
Whereas other operating costs (e.g., food or insurance) can be evenly divided across all children
at a center, staffing costs vary considerably by classroom. Because educator wages and benefits
make up the biggest portion of child care program expenditures, classrooms with fewer children
have higher staffing costs per child. As a result, infant care, with relatively lower ratio and
group size limits, is far more expensive to provide compared to care for older age groups.
Figure 1 illustrates the variation in cost across age groups, as well as the expenses incurred
by a center to provide high-quality care, including a living wage for all staff that is
commensurate with their education and experience.
Figure 1: Example Center High-Quality Cost of Care Per Child
Source: 2025 Davidson County Child Care Cost Estimation Model. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, 2025. Note: All
monthly budget numbers include an additional 5% operating reserve.
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 2026
www.pn3policy.org
