Child Care Provider Compensation Data for Washington State
State-Wide Compensation Data
The data on this page includes wages and benefits of early childhood educators in Washington.
Washington uses the following definitions for types of child care:
- Child care center: An agency that regularly provides early childhood education and early learning services for a group of children for periods of less than 24 hours.
- Family Child Care: A child care provider who regularly provides early childhood education and early learning services for not more than 12 children at any given time in the provider’s home in the family living quarters.
- School-Age Only Program: A program that operates before school, after school, and during the summer and holiday breaks.
Click here for Washington’s factsheet, which includes an analysis of the state’s child care compensation data and policy considerations for lawmakers.
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Average Wages for the Child Care Workforce in Washington
On average, educators in child care centers, family child care, and school-age programs in the state of Washington earn $19.32 per hour.
Data note: Not all roles apply to all program types. Data appears only for the program type for which the role applies. In some instances, the data for only one program type may appear.
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Hourly Wages of the Child Care Workforce in Washington Compared to Living Wages
The MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates $25.60 per hour as the living wage for one adult with no children in Washington, yet many individuals in the child care workforce earn less than this.
- Overall, 80% of all child care providers reported hourly wages below this living wage benchmark.
- 78% of providers who worked in a licensed center earned less than this living wage benchmark.
- 77% of providers who worked in a school-age only program earned less than this living wage benchmark.
- 89% of providers who worked in family child care homes earned less than this living wage benchmark.
Hourly Wages of the Child Care Workforce Among Different Races and Ethnicities
Individuals identifying as Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, or White earned $1-$5 more than other groups. For example, Asian child care professionals averaged $23.44 per hour, compared to $18.20 for North African/Middle Eastern professionals.
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Hourly Wages of the Child Care Workforce Among Different Languages Spoken
Providers whose primary language was Spanish made nearly four dollars less per hour on average than those who primarily spoke English.
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Percentage of Programs That Reported Offering Benefits
Regardless of program or role type, the most common benefits offered by child care programs were paid sick days, paid vacation, and paid holidays. Family child care homes were the least likely to offer benefits to their employees. Only 3% of professionals in family child care homes reported that their programs offered health insurance, compared to 36% of professionals working in a center or 58% working in a school age program.
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