Childcare Teacher Statistics 2026: Job Market, Pay, Demand & Workforce
Live figures from 3,876 open childcare teacher 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 Teacher Statistics (2026)
- As of October 13, 2026, Childcare Hires listed 3,876 open childcare teacher positions from 492 employers in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
- 1,890 of the 3,876 childcare teacher listings live on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026 (48.8%) were first posted in the previous 30 days.
- Employers hiring childcare teachers on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $18.50 an hour (326 employers, 933 listings stating hourly pay, October 13, 2026); this is advertised pay, not earnings.
- 25.1% of childcare teacher listings on Childcare Hires carried a readable hourly or annual pay figure on October 13, 2026.
- At least 6.9% of childcare teacher listings on Childcare Hires were part-time on October 13, 2026 (listings that name no schedule count as full-time, so the true share may be higher).
- The five largest employers posted 77.1% of childcare teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, led by KinderCare Learning Companies with 1,305.
- Texas had the most childcare teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026: 387, or 10% of the national total.
- BLS publishes no separate wage for childcare teachers; the median annual wage for all childcare workers (SOC 39-9011), the occupation that includes them, was $34,980 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
- Child care services employed 269,970 childcare workers in May 2025, 26.9% of the industry's wage-and-salary jobs, with a median annual wage of $34,170 (BLS OEWS, NAICS 6244).
Childcare Teacher Job Market Statistics
Childcare Hires had 3,876 open childcare teacher listings from 492 employers on October 13, 2026.
1,403 were first posted in the previous 14 days and 1,890 in the previous 30 days.
At least 6.9% of childcare teacher listings were part-time on October 13, 2026.
Listings that name no schedule are counted as full-time, so the real part-time share is likely higher.
To browse the openings themselves, see all childcare teacher listings.
Childcare Teacher Pay Statistics
Employers hiring childcare teachers on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $18.50 an hour across 326 employers on October 13, 2026; this is advertised pay, not earnings.
38 childcare teacher listings from 28 employers stated annual pay instead, with an employer median of $50,000 a year.
BLS publishes no separate wage for childcare teachers; the median annual wage for all childcare workers (SOC 39-9011), the occupation that includes them, was $34,980 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
For more on what childcare teachers earn, see the childcare teacher salary guide.
Childcare Teacher Demand by State
States with at least 25 open childcare teacher listings from 10 or more employers on October 13, 2026.
Texas had the most open childcare teacher listings on October 13, 2026, with 387 (10% of the national total).
California followed with 255 (6.6%).
To browse the openings in one state, start with childcare teacher openings in Texas.
| State | Open listings | Share of U.S. | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 387 | 10% | 60 |
| California | 255 | 6.6% | 46 |
| Illinois | 236 | 6.1% | 35 |
| Florida | 192 | 5% | 34 |
| Pennsylvania | 183 | 4.7% | 28 |
| Ohio | 177 | 4.6% | 32 |
| Virginia | 167 | 4.3% | 28 |
| Massachusetts | 164 | 4.2% | 31 |
| New Jersey | 163 | 4.2% | 23 |
| North Carolina | 156 | 4% | 35 |
| New York | 150 | 3.9% | 38 |
| Michigan | 136 | 3.5% | 20 |
| Georgia | 121 | 3.1% | 21 |
| Wisconsin | 108 | 2.8% | 28 |
| Colorado | 106 | 2.7% | 22 |
| Minnesota | 106 | 2.7% | 18 |
| Washington | 103 | 2.7% | 19 |
| Maryland | 88 | 2.3% | 16 |
| Tennessee | 87 | 2.2% | 17 |
| Arizona | 85 | 2.2% | 11 |
| Indiana | 75 | 1.9% | 17 |
| Oklahoma | 68 | 1.8% | 13 |
| Connecticut | 58 | 1.5% | 16 |
| Missouri | 57 | 1.5% | 17 |
| South Carolina | 55 | 1.4% | 15 |
| Kansas | 34 | 0.9% | 16 |
| Nebraska | 32 | 0.8% | 11 |
| Delaware | 25 | 0.6% | 10 |
Childcare Hires listings, October 13, 2026. Listing counts reflect where employers post, not total employment.
Childcare Teacher Employer Mix
492 employers had open childcare teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, and the five largest posted 77.1% of them.
411 employers (83.5%) had exactly one open childcare teacher listing.
The largest single employer, KinderCare Learning Companies, posted 33.7% of all childcare teacher listings, so this sample leans toward large childcare chains.
Childcare Teacher Workforce
Child care services employed 269,970 childcare workers in May 2025, 26.9% of the industry's wage-and-salary jobs, with a median annual wage of $34,170 (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 childcare worker employment to decline 2% from 2025 to 2035, but expects about 150,300 openings a year from replacing workers who leave (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35).
For more on projected demand and openings, see the childcare and preschool teacher 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 teacher career guide.
Childcare Teacher Statistics FAQ
How many childcare teacher openings are there right now?
Childcare Hires listed 3,876 open childcare teacher positions from 492 employers in 49 states and the District of Columbia on October 13, 2026. 1,403 of them were first posted in the previous 14 days. The count is refreshed every six hours from live listings.
What do childcare teacher job listings pay?
Employers hiring childcare teachers on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $18.50 an hour (326 employers, 933 listings, October 13, 2026). The middle half of listings offer $16.50 to $20.50. That is advertised pay, not earnings. BLS publishes no separate wage for childcare teachers; the median annual wage for all childcare workers (SOC 39-9011), the occupation that includes them, was $34,980 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
Which state has the most childcare teacher listings?
Texas had the most open childcare teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, with 387 (10% of the national total). California followed with 255. Listing counts reflect where employers post, not total employment.
Methodology and Sources
Listing figures are computed from every active, paid childcare teacher 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 teacher 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 Hires job listings: active, paid listings for childcare teachers, 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, Childcare Workers (2025–35 projections)