Overview
For parents across the U.S., finding convenient and affordable childcare continues to be a struggle. The availability of childcare shapes some of the most important life choices, like where to live and work. Working parents face two major challenges with childcare, high tuition costs and a lack of available providers. Childcare is an expensive service largely because it is labor-intensive and involves the direct supervision of children. It is also heavily regulated, and these regulations contribute to high costs and difficulty finding providers. Childcare regulations are designed for a good reason, to protect children while they are in care away from their parents.
Despite the good intentions, complying with these regulations can be costly for childcare providers, increasing operating costs for childcare centers and prices for parents. Unnecessary regulations can be especially costly when the underlying service is already expensive. Since the expiration of COVID-19 childcare-related subsidies passed by Congress, state policymakers have been reassessing how they approach childcare. While many states have created programs to support parents and offset rising costs, policymakers have also increasingly focused on identifying ways to safely reduce operating costs for providers.
This report provides detailed information on regulations for childcare facilities and professionals. We include facility regulations that set standards for the size and characteristics of the indoor and outdoor space. We also provide detailed information about the supervision and staff requirements per child, broken down by age. Finally, we detail staff-level licensing requirements for center directors and teachers. This database is designed to facilitate comparisons of state childcare regulations and identify potentially burdensome requirements.
Data Collection
The childcare dataset contains facility and licensing regulations for childcare facilities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data were collected between May and July 2026. The research team relied on state statutes and administrative codes. Statutes authorize the regulation of childcare facilities and provide some standards, but most of the specific requirements are created through agency rulemaking.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families maintains a source of the childcare regulations in all 50 states, which is updated with new versions of state administrative codes. The National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations includes the agency tasked with regulating childcare providers, links to the agency web page, and the statutes and administrative codes for each state. Although the National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations provides some regulatory information, the research team independently compiled all data from state statutes and administrative codes.
The data collection was limited to childcare centers. Each state chooses to define and regulate childcare service providers differently, but most divide childcare into family daycare homes, family daycare facilities, and childcare facilities. While childcare provided in family settings is important, there is much more variation in the definition of family centers between states. Childcare centers are the largest category of regulated childcare providers and employ the greatest number of childcare professionals. As the largest type of childcare provider and the primary source of employment for childcare workers, childcare centers are the most policy-relevant category.
This data has been redesigned to provide more detailed information for a policy-oriented audience. The specific regulations are reported with greater detail, although we do provide some standardization to allow for comparisons between states. The selected requirements were chosen based on both policy importance and variation across states, allowing policymakers to identify regulations that may be candidates for reform. We divide the data into three categories, based on the types of regulations included: facility-level regulations, supervision regulations, and professional licensing regulations.
Facility Regulations
The first table includes facility-level regulations, such as indoor and outdoor space per child, outdoor fencing, alternatives to outdoor space, required governing bodies, and facility needs assessment. We define the variables as follows:
Indoor Space per Child: The minimum square footage of indoor space per child. When the size differs based on age, we include the requirement for all ages.
Outdoor Space per Child: The minimum square footage of outdoor space per child. When states specify both a per-child requirement and a minimum total square footage, both requirements are reported.
Outdoor Area Fencing: The minimum height requirement for fencing or natural barriers around outdoor play areas.
Alternative to Outdoor Space Allowed: Whether childcare centers can use alternative indoor areas on premises to meet required outdoor space requirements. We do not count the ability to use a public park to meet outdoor space requirements as an alternative. Listed as a Yes or No variable.
Governing Body: Whether a governing body with members besides the owner is required for a childcare center to operate. Listed as a Yes or No variable.
Needs Assessment: Whether an applicant must obtain approval from a government agency before opening a childcare center based on a determination of community need. This requirement is analogous to healthcare Certificate of Need laws. Listed as a Yes or No variable.
Supervising Regulations
The second table includes the minimum child-to-staff ratios and the maximum group sizes for children. Because states define age groups differently, we standardize the data using the largest common age-group categories, with either 6-month or 1-year age buckets. In some states, the age groups for the staffing ratios use descriptions like infant, toddler, etc., but the age brackets of those descriptions are included in the rule’s definition section. We use the same age groups for minimum child-to-staff ratios and maximum group sizes. When states do not list a capacity limit, the maximum group size is determined by staffing ratios and facility capacity limits.
Child-to-Staff Ratios: The maximum number of children in an age group that can be watched by a single staff member. Broken down by age, from infancy (typically beginning at 6 weeks) to age 8.
Maximum Group Size: the maximum number of children that can be assigned to a group of staff members. Broken down by age, from infancy (typically beginning at 6 weeks) to age 8.
Professional Licensing Regulations
Finally, the third table displays the licensing requirements for childcare center directors and teachers. We include all pathways for licensure for both professions, because nearly every state offers multiple pathways with different combinations of education and experience. Both professions include education, experience, and minimum age requirements. We include the education and experience requirements as separate variables, because licensure requirements typically combine formal education with practical experience. Directors are often required to obtain experience in both childcare and administration. For ease of comparison, we combine these requirements into a single experience measure. Nearly all states include a pathway to meet education requirements through a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, which itself requires some amount of experience. We do not include that in the experience requirement for ease of comparison. Some states have separate director licenses based on the size of the facility. For completeness, we report the requirements for all facility sizes.
States often have multiple teaching-level professions. Some states require a lead teacher, who has some supervisory responsibilities and leads activity planning. We exclude that profession, which is not required consistently across states. We report the teacher classification that is most consistently defined across states.
Director Pathways: The combination of education and experience, and the minimum age to become a facility director. We include all pathways. For states with different requirements based on facility size, we include all facility sizes.
Teacher Pathways: The combination of education and experience, and the minimum age to become a childcare teacher. A childcare teacher is defined as a professional who provides direct childcare as their primary role. It does not include lead teachers when the state considers this a separate license.
Updates from 2025 Database
We made revisions for the 2026 edition of this report to improve accuracy, refine variable definitions, and reflect changes in state childcare regulations.
We removed facility-level regulatory variables because the underlying data source maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is no longer being updated. These variables included minimum general liability insurance coverage requirements, family communication requirements, written policies and procedures requirements, childcare recordkeeping requirements, and requirements for regular meetings with families.
We refined the definition of governing body. The 2025 dataset classified states that allowed a single owner-operator to serve as the governing body as having a governing body requirement.
Beginning with the 2026 edition, only states that require a governing body consisting of multiple individuals are classified as having such a requirement. As a result, Connecticut, Indiana, and Texas were reclassified as not having a governing body requirement.
Regulatory Reforms
The 2026 edition also incorporates several recent regulatory reforms affecting childcare operations.
New Hampshire enacted House Bill 1195 in 2026, which modified indoor space requirements for childcare facilities, loosening requirements for facilities.
Recent changes to child-to-staff ratio requirements that are reflected in changes from the 2025 database include Montana’s enactment of House Bill 422 in 2023, Idaho’s enactment of House Bill 0243 in 2025, Connecticut’s 2024 regulatory revisions, and Wyoming’s replacement of childcare regulations in April 2026.
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