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    Which States Have the Best Childcare?

    Childcare is an essential part of working life. Parents who have small children need them to be taken care of while they’re at work, and ideally, they want their kids to be in a place that will help them learn and grow in a healthy, constructive way. 

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    Which States Have the Best Childcare? - PlaygroundEquipment.com - Infographic

     

    Childcare holds a crucial position in American life as it supports and facilitates the manifold dimensions of parents' and children's lives. For numerous working families, it allows parents to maintain employment, contribute meaningfully to the economy, and achieve financial security. The availability of dependable childcare ensures a consistent environment where children can be safely nurtured while parents fulfill their professional responsibilities. It promotes greater work-life balance and reduces the stress associated with juggling parenting and career.

    Additionally, quality childcare has significant positive impacts on children’s social, cognitive and emotional development. In structured childcare settings, children obtain crucial early learning experiences, gain social skills through interactions with peers, and develop independence. Attending to the developmental needs during these early, formative years is critical to setting children up for future academic and life success. Thus, childcare is not simply a necessity, but an investment in the next generation. 

    Care.com has come up with a list of each state ranked by their respective degrees of childcare cost, quality, and availability. Based on a rigorous methodology, they show how each state differs when it comes to childcare and, ultimately, which states are the best. There are pros and cons for most states; for instance, the state of Connecticut has great quality and availability but with a higher cost, while South Carolina has higher quality but with higher cost and lower availability. This list will give you a solid idea of which states fare the best and worst when it comes to childcare: 

    Rank

    State

    Cost

    Quality

    Availability

    1.

    Connecticut

    24

    2

    2

    2.

    New Hampshire

    2

    14

    3

    3.

    Massachusetts

    39

    3

    1

    4.

    Rhode Island

    10

    25

    4

    5.

    Minnesota

    4

    4

    23

    6.

    Vermont

    18

    10

    5

    7.

    Maryland

    7

    15

    12

    8.

    Maine

    11

    17

    9

    9.

    New Jersey

    20

    38

    6

    10.

    Hawaii

    8

    1

    49

    11.

    Virginia

    12

    26

    10

    12.

    Wyoming

    3

    5

    44

    13.

    Delaware

    14

    39

    7

    14.

    Pennsylvania

    21

    19

    13

    15.

    Iowa

    6

    9

    34

    16.

    North Dakota

    1

    49

    24

    17.

    Colorado

    25

    27

    16

    18.

    Georgia

    31

    13

    14

    19.

    Florida

    30

    18

    15

    20.

    Missouri

    22

    16

    27

    21.

    Nebraska

    5

    48

    28

    22.

    Michigan

    19

    43

    18

    23.

    Wisconsin

    15

    40

    22

    24.

    South Carolina

    34

    7

    20

    25.

    North Carolina

    40

    12

    11

    26.

    Idaho

    9

    11

    46

    27.

    Oregon

    29

    29

    25

    28.

    Illinois

    37

    28

    17

    29.

    Washington

    33

    33

    19

    30.

    Montana

    17

    41

    32

    31.

    Texas

    16

    45

    38

    32.

    Indiana

    36

    6

    33

    33.

    Arkansas

    28

    24

    42

    34.

    California

    32

    31

    31

    35.

    Kansas

    27

    35

    36

    36.

    South Dakota

    23

    32

    45

    37.

    Alabama

    41

    8

    29

    38.

    Utah

    13

    37

    48

    39.

    New York

    45

    42

    8

    40.

    Ohio

    35

    47

    21

    41.

    Arizona

    38

    30

    43

    42.

    Louisiana

    44

    22

    40

    43.

    Kentucky

    42

    34

    30

    44.

    Tennessee

    47

    21

    26

    45.

    Alaska

    26

    46

    50

    46.

    Oklahoma

    43

    44

    39

    47.

    Nevada

    48

    36

    41

    48.

    New Mexico

    46

    20

    47

    49.

    Mississippi

    49

    23

    35

    50.

    West Virginia

    50

    50

    37

     

    Ultimately, childcare is one of many considerations when choosing a place to live, but especially for those with children, it’s an important one to keep in mind. And for those who plan to stay where they currently live, it’s still crucial to understand the quality of childcare in one’s current area in order to better prepare for the future. By weighing the pros and cons of each state’s childcare offerings, one can come to better understand whether one should choose to live there.

     

    Edited by: Ben Thompson

     

     

     

    Learn about the author: Ben Thompson