The best state for childcare providers is Kentucky, with 12,670 jobs available and an average salary of $20,200.
The worst state for childcare providers is Hawaii, with only 2,510 jobs available and an average salary of $20,280, despite the high cost of living.
The state with the most childcare provider jobs available is Ohio with 20,000 jobs currently available.
The state with the highest average salary for childcare providers is Massachusetts where workers make an average of $26,330 per year.
Childcare Providers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as childcare providers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since childcare providers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where childcare providers have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around, and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for childcare providers. After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s childcare providers:
So there you have it — Kentucky is the best of the best when it comes to being a childcare providers.
How did it end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for childcare providers and for more on the top ten states.
How we determined the best states to be a childcare provider
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job: Availability of jobs and Pay
So in order to find out the best states for childcare providers in America, we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well childcare providers get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:
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Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is in a given state.
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Average annual salary.
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Average annual salary for entry-level work.
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Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for the fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for childcare providers in California is $26,050 and the average salary in Illinois is $23,200, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop an overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for childcare providers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for childcare providers.
1. Kentucky
Total Jobs: 12,670
Average Annual Salary: $20,200
Average Entry Level Salary: $16,140
Average Experienced Salary: $27,500
Location Quotient: 1.66
2. Alaska
Total Jobs: 2,420
Average Annual Salary: $25,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,690
Average Experienced Salary: $31,430
Location Quotient: 1.78
3. Ohio
Total Jobs: 20,000
Average Annual Salary: $21,950
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,450
Average Experienced Salary: $29,520
Location Quotient: 0.91
4. Washington
Total Jobs: 7,950
Average Annual Salary: $25,110
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,980
Average Experienced Salary: $33,730
Location Quotient: 0.64
5. Vermont
Total Jobs: 1,000
Average Annual Salary: $24,850
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,490
Average Experienced Salary: $33,300
Location Quotient: 0.8
6. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 1,430
Average Annual Salary: $21,890
Average Entry Level Salary: $16,390
Average Experienced Salary: $30,020
Location Quotient: 1.21
7. Michigan
Total Jobs: 16,990
Average Annual Salary: $22,140
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,540
Average Experienced Salary: $30,360
Location Quotient: 0.99
8. South Dakota
Total Jobs: 2,510
Average Annual Salary: $20,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,010
Average Experienced Salary: $24,180
Location Quotient: 1.46
9. North Dakota
Total Jobs: 2,840
Average Annual Salary: $20,550
Average Entry Level Salary: $16,220
Average Experienced Salary: $28,500
Location Quotient: 1.53
10. Missouri
Total Jobs: 12,570
Average Annual Salary: $20,360
Average Entry Level Salary: $16,510
Average Experienced Salary: $27,710
Location Quotient: 1.11
There You Have It
If you’re looking to start out your career as a childcare provider these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a childcare provider in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For Childcare Providers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | $20,200 |
| 2 | Alaska | $25,640 |
| 3 | Ohio | $21,950 |
| 4 | Washington | $25,110 |
| 5 | Vermont | $24,850 |
| 6 | Wyoming | $21,890 |
| 7 | Michigan | $22,140 |
| 8 | South Dakota | $20,380 |
| 9 | North Dakota | $20,550 |
| 10 | Missouri | $20,360 |
| 11 | Utah | $21,930 |
| 12 | Montana | $20,490 |
| 13 | California | $26,050 |
| 14 | Oregon | $24,410 |
| 15 | Colorado | $25,070 |
| 16 | Georgia | $20,580 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $19,950 |
| 18 | Arkansas | $18,740 |
| 19 | New Jersey | $24,560 |
| 20 | New York | $26,280 |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $22,700 |
| 22 | Nebraska | $20,580 |
| 23 | Maine | $22,190 |
| 24 | Tennessee | $20,140 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $20,980 |
| 26 | Minnesota | $23,450 |
| 27 | Illinois | $23,200 |
| 28 | Texas | $20,240 |
| 29 | Massachusetts | $26,330 |
| 30 | Indiana | $20,090 |
| 31 | Mississippi | $18,480 |
| 32 | New Mexico | $20,130 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $19,150 |
| 34 | Alabama | $18,690 |
| 35 | Pennsylvania | $21,010 |
| 36 | Connecticut | $24,370 |
| 37 | Idaho | $19,290 |
| 38 | Maryland | $24,440 |
| 39 | Virginia | $22,440 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $19,240 |
| 41 | Kansas | $19,840 |
| 42 | Florida | $21,210 |
| 43 | Arizona | $21,320 |
| 44 | Iowa | $18,930 |
| 45 | Nevada | $22,340 |
| 46 | Louisiana | $18,870 |
| 47 | New Hampshire | $22,200 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | $21,280 |
| 49 | Delaware | $21,740 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $20,280 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
