Childcare Director Statistics 2026: Job Market, Pay, Demand & Workforce
Live figures from 711 open childcare director listings on Childcare Hires, next to federal employment and wage data.
Every number names its source and date, and the listing figures refresh every six hours.
Key Childcare Director Statistics (2026)
- As of October 13, 2026, Childcare Hires listed 711 open childcare director positions from 206 employers in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
- 576 of the 711 childcare director listings live on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026 (81%) were first posted in the previous 30 days.
- Employers hiring childcare directors on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $59,000 a year (87 employers, 204 listings stating annual pay, October 13, 2026); this is advertised pay, not earnings.
- 59.6% of childcare director listings on Childcare Hires carried a readable hourly or annual pay figure on October 13, 2026.
- The five largest employers posted 51.9% of childcare director listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, led by Healthy Kids Programs with 140.
- New York had the most childcare director listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026: 98, or 13.8% of the national total.
- The median annual wage for education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare (SOC 11-9031) was $59,300 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
- Child care services employed 60,540 preschool and childcare center administrators in May 2025, 6.0% of the industry's wage-and-salary jobs, with a median annual wage of $58,090 (BLS OEWS, NAICS 6244).
Childcare Director Job Market Statistics
Childcare Hires had 711 open childcare director listings from 206 employers on October 13, 2026.
434 were first posted in the previous 14 days and 576 in the previous 30 days.
To browse the openings themselves, see all childcare director listings.
Childcare Director Pay Statistics
Employers hiring childcare directors on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $59,000 a year across 87 employers on October 13, 2026; this is advertised pay, not earnings.
The median annual wage for education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare (SOC 11-9031) was $59,300 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
For more on what childcare directors earn, see the childcare director salary guide.
Childcare Director Demand by State
States with at least 25 open childcare director listings from 10 or more employers on October 13, 2026.
New York had the most open childcare director listings on October 13, 2026, with 98 (13.8% of the national total).
California followed with 65 (9.1%).
| State | Open listings | Share of U.S. | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 98 | 13.8% | 21 |
| California | 65 | 9.1% | 26 |
| Texas | 64 | 9% | 31 |
| Pennsylvania | 55 | 7.7% | 24 |
| Georgia | 33 | 4.6% | 16 |
| Massachusetts | 31 | 4.4% | 16 |
Childcare Hires listings, October 13, 2026. Listing counts reflect where employers post, not total employment.
Childcare Director Employer Mix
206 employers had open childcare director listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, and the five largest posted 51.9% of them.
161 employers (78.2%) had exactly one open childcare director listing.
Childcare Director Workforce
Child care services employed 60,540 preschool and childcare center administrators in May 2025, 6.0% of the industry's wage-and-salary jobs, with a median annual wage of $58,090 (BLS OEWS, NAICS 6244).
The child care services industry employed 1,004,990 wage-and-salary workers in May 2025, with a median annual wage of $36,580 across all its occupations (BLS OEWS, NAICS 6244).
BLS projects employment of preschool and childcare center directors to decline 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,200 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35).
For more on projected demand and openings, see the childcare director job outlook.
For why centers struggle to fill these roles, see our childcare staffing shortage analysis.
For how to enter the field, see the childcare director career guide.
Childcare Director Statistics FAQ
How many childcare director openings are there right now?
Childcare Hires listed 711 open childcare director positions from 206 employers in 43 states and the District of Columbia on October 13, 2026. 434 of them were first posted in the previous 14 days. The count is refreshed every six hours from live listings.
What do childcare director job listings pay?
Employers hiring childcare directors on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $59,000 a year (87 employers, 204 listings, October 13, 2026). The middle half of listings offer $55,000 to $71,500. That is advertised pay, not earnings. The median annual wage for education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare (SOC 11-9031) was $59,300 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
Which state has the most childcare director listings?
New York had the most open childcare director listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, with 98 (13.8% of the national total). California followed with 65. Listing counts reflect where employers post, not total employment.
Methodology and Sources
Listing figures are computed from every active, paid childcare director listing on Childcare Hires at the time shown, and refreshed every six hours.
Listings on a job board are not a random sample of all childcare director jobs, so read them as a picture of current hiring, not of total employment.
Advertised pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posts, or its single figure, and hourly and annual postings are never converted into each other.
The headline is the employer median: each employer’s own median, then the median across employers, so a chain posting hundreds of openings counts once.
A pay figure needs at least 30 listings from 10 employers and is withheld when one employer posted more than 50% of them.
Federal figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are quoted as published, with the year in each sentence.
Childcare director listings post pay hourly and annually in similar numbers; the two are never converted into each other.
- Childcare Hires job listings: active, paid listings for childcare directors, queried live and refreshed every six hours.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Child Care Services (NAICS 6244)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Preschool and Childcare Center Directors (2025–35 projections)