Arizona
Working families in Arizona need accessible, affordable, quality child care and early learning opportunities for their children.
Currently, federal and state early learning programs reach thousands of young children and their families in Arizona. But too many working families in Arizona are missing out. As a direct result of child care issues, the Arizona economy loses millions of dollars each year in the form of lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.
There are 486K children ages 5 and under in Arizona – 61% of these children have all available parents in the workforce.
The typical annual cost of child care for an infant in Arizona is around $14,000.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant only reaches 14% of eligible families in Arizona. (This federal program helps low-income parents afford child care.)
On average, child care providers in Arizona earn just $35,680 a year; this can make it a challenge to recruit and retain this workforce, leading to supply issues.
Arizona’s economy loses $2.2B annually due to child care challenges
Arizona: In The Headlines
Child care plays factor in family independence, preventing child abuse, neglect
Daily Courier | mAY 26, 2025
The federal government defines affordable child care as costing no more than 7% of a family income, Peterson said. The reality is that there is only one county on the East Coast that meets that criteria.
Early childhood education gap puts serious drag on Arizona economy, experts say
Phoenix Business Journal | sEPTEMBER 25, 2025
Business leaders and experts discussed the economic impact of Arizona’s early childhood education gap, with one panelist revealing a staggering annual cost to the state’s economy.
West Valley facing severe child care shortage amid tech boom, advocates expect it to get worse
ABC 15 | September 8, 2025
The West Valley is experiencing a critical childcare shortage, with only 27,000 estimated available licensed slots for 86,000 children ages zero to five.
Arizona Resources & News
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