Minnesota Index: Child care in Minnesota

Number of Minnesotans under age 5 in 2015      346,825

Percent of Minnesota households with children under age 6 and all parents in the workforce     74

                State rank           3

Annual cost of child care for an infant in 2015      $14,826

                State rank           6

Annual cost of child care for a 4-year-old in 2015                $11,420

                State rank           8

Average number of children served monthly by Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program        30,000

                Families served 15,000

                State funding for program in Fiscal Year 2016       $249.1 million

Percent decline in the number of licensed in-home family child care providers from 2006-2015   27

                Percent increase in the number of child care centers in that time              8

Approximate net loss of child care spaces, statewide from 2006-2015      12,000

                Approximate net gain of child care spaces in the seven-county metropolitan area             3,400

                Approximate net loss of child care spaces in non-metro counties              15,400

Average annual cost of operating a family child-care business     $26,372

                Average annual revenue              $50,938

                Average annual provider salary $24,566

Hours that providers work weekly, on average  53

                Pre-tax hourly wage       $8.90

Sources: Legislative Task Force on Access to Affordable Child Care, Center for Rural Policy and Development