Michigan: July 2026 Child Care Poll

New Michigan state polling from First Five Years Fund finds that voters overwhelmingly view child care as part of the affordability crisis and recognize that child care challenges are affecting the state’s workforce, fueling support for practical, bipartisan solutions to make care more affordable and accessible. 

The survey was conducted by Impact Research on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from July 21-27, 2026, surveying 600 likely voters across the state.

Michigan voters are experiencing the strain of rising costs and believe that the cost of child care is part of the affordability crisis.

• Two-thirds of voters say the cost of living is creating major or minor financial strains (67%). 
• Three-quarters say that the cost of child care is a big or small part of the affordability crisis (77%).

Child care challenges increasingly affect the ability of both parents and non-parents to participate in the workforce.

• Nearly 40% of all voters say their ability to work is affected by coworkers’ child care challenges.
• And 52% of parents who work say their ability to work is affected by child care challenges. 

Michigan parents need a wider range of child care options beyond family and friends. 

• Only 5% of parents rely on family and friends for full-time child care, while well over half (57%) say they do not rely on family and friends for child care at all. 

Voters support common-sense legislation like the bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act to build the supply of care and strengthen the existing child care system.

• 6 in 10 voters support the child care bill while just 2 in 10 oppose it (62% support / 20% oppose). 
• By a 35-point margin, voters are more likely to support an elected official who supported this bill (48% more likely/13% less likely).

Our take: “Poll after poll has shown that affordability is top of mind for voters right now, and we’ve spent the past year hearing lots of child care ideas and proposals,” said FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling. “But voters are telling us that in the midst of a hyperpolitical primary and midterm season, they aren’t thinking about politics at all; they just want relief from the costs squeezing their families. And voters overwhelmingly support proposals like the bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act, which is exactly the kind of common-sense solution that can deliver it.”

National Polling Reinforces Michigan’s Findings

Michigan’s results mirror First Five Years Fund’s national polling conducted during the same time period, which found that:

• 82% of voters say the cost of child care is part of the affordability crisis.
• Nearly 40% of voters say their own ability to work is affected by coworkers’ child care challenges.
• For parents who pay for child care, 38% rank child care as one of their two biggest household expenses, behind only housing (56%) and alongside groceries (40%). 
• One in three voters say gridlock in Congress—rather than just one political party—is holding back progress on making child care more affordable.
• Nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) support the bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act.

Learn more:

• July 2026 National Poll
• Michigan Child Care Fact Sheet
• CCDBG in Michigan
• First Five Things To Know About the Child Care Modernization Act