Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of child care worker salary by state for the United States:
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Massachusetts has the highest child care worker salary of $41,731
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Alaska has the lowest child care worker salary of $22,953
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The national average salary for child care workers is $31,284
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The national hourly pay for child care workers is $15.04
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do child care workers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for child care worker by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for child care workers after this adjustment? That would be Massachusetts.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for child care worker salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Child Care Workers By State
| Rank | State | Average Child Care Worker Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $41,731 | $28,000 | $62,000 |
| 2 | Washington | $40,434 | $27,000 | $58,000 |
| 3 | Hawaii | $38,865 | $33,000 | $45,000 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $38,201 | $24,000 | $60,000 |
| 5 | West Virginia | $37,280 | $24,000 | $57,000 |
| 6 | California | $37,176 | $22,000 | $60,000 |
| 7 | Maine | $36,639 | $28,000 | $46,000 |
| 8 | Delaware | $36,486 | $22,000 | $58,000 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $35,883 | $23,000 | $55,000 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | $35,004 | $24,000 | $49,000 |
| 11 | Kentucky | $34,804 | $22,000 | $53,000 |
| 12 | New York | $34,682 | $21,000 | $55,000 |
| 13 | Vermont | $33,907 | $25,000 | $44,000 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $33,856 | $21,000 | $54,000 |
| 15 | Idaho | $33,773 | $22,000 | $50,000 |
| 16 | Nevada | $33,397 | $20,000 | $53,000 |
| 17 | Michigan | $33,067 | $22,000 | $49,000 |
| 18 | Ohio | $32,104 | $20,000 | $49,000 |
| 19 | Oregon | $32,097 | $21,000 | $48,000 |
| 20 | Minnesota | $31,716 | $22,000 | $43,000 |
| 21 | Arizona | $31,467 | $19,000 | $50,000 |
| 22 | Colorado | $31,400 | $20,000 | $48,000 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $30,889 | $21,000 | $44,000 |
| 24 | Maryland | $30,427 | $19,000 | $48,000 |
| 25 | Illinois | $30,171 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 26 | North Dakota | $29,415 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 27 | Virginia | $29,026 | $18,000 | $45,000 |
| 28 | North Carolina | $28,872 | $18,000 | $44,000 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | $28,774 | $17,000 | $46,000 |
| 30 | Texas | $28,767 | $18,000 | $45,000 |
| 31 | Missouri | $28,272 | $18,000 | $42,000 |
| 32 | Wyoming | $28,081 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 33 | Utah | $27,995 | $18,000 | $42,000 |
| 34 | Georgia | $27,781 | $17,000 | $43,000 |
| 35 | South Dakota | $27,607 | $19,000 | $39,000 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $27,527 | $17,000 | $43,000 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $27,248 | $17,000 | $42,000 |
| 38 | Montana | $27,144 | $19,000 | $37,000 |
| 39 | Arkansas | $27,027 | $17,000 | $42,000 |
| 40 | Kansas | $26,842 | $17,000 | $41,000 |
| 41 | Florida | $26,827 | $16,000 | $42,000 |
| 42 | South Carolina | $26,627 | $17,000 | $41,000 |
| 43 | Iowa | $26,120 | $17,000 | $38,000 |
| 44 | Alabama | $25,506 | $16,000 | $39,000 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $25,043 | $16,000 | $37,000 |
| 46 | Tennessee | $24,975 | $16,000 | $38,000 |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $24,332 | $15,000 | $38,000 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $23,479 | $15,000 | $36,000 |
| 49 | Indiana | $23,353 | $15,000 | $35,000 |
| 50 | Alaska | $22,953 | $19,000 | $27,000 |
Methodology: Child Care Worker Salary By State
To better understand child care worker pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for child care workers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for child care workers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for child care workers.
Child Care Worker Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for child care workers?
The highest-paid state for child care workers is Massachusetts with an average salary of $41,731 per year.
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What city pays child care workers the most?
Worcester, MA pays child care workers the most with an average salary of $41,953 per year.
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What is the worst state for child care workers?
The worst state for child care workers is Alaska with an average salary of $22,953 per year.
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.
