Child Day Care Services — Average Employee Salary
The average employee in the child day care services industry earns $31,747 per year ($15.26/hour), according to Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW data.
What Do Child Day Care Workers Earn?
At $31,747/year (equivalent to $15.26/hour for a full-time worker), child day care services wages are below the national average of ~$65,000.
Lower wages in this industry are common in service-oriented or retail-adjacent sectors where entry barriers are lower. This can be an advantage for business owners managing payroll costs, but may contribute to higher turnover.
The typical child day care services business employs 12 people. These are mid-sized operations where payroll is a significant but manageable expense.
Wages as a Percentage of Revenue
For the average child day care services business generating $750K/year with 12 employees at $31,747 each, total payroll represents roughly 50.8% of revenue. This is a labor-intensive industry — payroll is the dominant expense.
What This Means for Business Owners
If you're starting or running a child day care servicesbusiness, here's what the wage data means for your bottom line:
- Per-employee cost: Budget approximately $41,271/year per employee (salary + ~30% for benefits, taxes, and insurance).
- Typical team size: 12 employees = ~$380,964/year in base payroll.
- Hourly equivalent: $15.26/hour base — factor this into pricing and project estimates.
- Revenue needed: With average revenue of $750K/business, you need strong utilization rates to maintain healthy margins after payroll.
See how these wages compare to total revenue and profit margins.
View full Child Day Care Services revenue benchmarks →Frequently Asked Questions
- How much do child day care services employees make?
- The average child day care services employee earns $31,747 per year, which is equivalent to $15.26/hour for a full-time worker (2,080 hours/year). This is below the national average of approximately $65,000.
- How many people work in the child day care services industry?
- The child day care services industry employs 954,796 workers across 78,107 establishments in the United States. The average business in this industry has approximately 12 employees.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW 2023).