Child care costs have been rising over the past decade—subsidized care rates have increased 22% and now average $1,700 per month, according to a recent PPIC report. Today, over 76% of Californians say they support more public funding for child care programs to help parents work. While the child care market in California is broad and offers options for families, these options vary depending on where a family lives, the child’s age, and the type of provider.
The need for affordable child care is substantial among households with young children and working parents. About half a million families in and near poverty (with incomes below 150% of the poverty line or $65,980 annually, on average, for two working-age adults and two children) with at least one young child (aged 0–5) have at least one working parent, according to the most recent California Poverty Measure. This represents 81% of all families with young children. Shares vary by region with Orange County having the highest share of these households (87%) and the Northern region the lowest (75%).
Costs also vary depending on the child’s age, provider type, and other factors—and these costs can be high. In 2024 dollars, the median cost of full-time care for a preschooler ranged from $9,000 to $24,000 annually across counties. For an infant, it ranged from $11,000 to $29,000.
Costs are high in higher income counties but tend to make up a higher share of household income in low-income counties, averaging from $2,011 per month in Marin County at 10% of household income to $1,046 per month in Trinity County at 21% of median income. The pattern does not seem to be true for Los Angeles, however, where incomes are relatively higher as are costs, at 17% of income. Averaged across provider and child’s age, full-time care ranges from 8% to 21% of household income across counties, and from 12% to 17% across regions.
Although child care is expensive for families, it tends to offer low pay for workers. The state has made recent efforts to address the balancing act between providing affordable care to families while offering higher wages to providers. Since 2019, public funding for child care has nearly doubled, increasing from about $6.9 billion to $11.7 billion in 2025, after accounting for inflation. This funding helps families pay for child care and helps providers stay in business.
The governor recently approved an additional increase to payment rates and other funding for providers. These increases have been paired in the past several years with a reduction in families’ fees for subsidized care through fee waivers and fee structure changes in 2023 (families under 75% of the state median income would pay no fee, while for those above, fees would be capped at 1% of family income) and expanded free Transitional Kindergarten (TK) for four-year-olds. The TK expansion has driven an overall increase in child care slots.
However, there are still not enough slots to provide child care for all income- and work-eligible families. Child care providers and parents also have concerns about TK, according to a recent PPIC report, and affordable care is harder to find for infants than preschoolers.
State policymakers will need to find ways to support families seeking child care and support providers as they shift to caring for younger children. In addition, a closer look at recent changes to payment rates could help policymakers understand the impacts of the state’s investments. Upcoming PPIC work will continue to assess the challenges and accomplishments in this space.
