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.
In the state, 62% of children have all available parents participating in the workforce, while the average cost of care is $15,964 a year (or $1,330 per month).
More than 18,000 children ages 5 and under have child care costs subsidized through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), or 16% of those eligible. The average copay with a CCDBG subsidy is $35 a month.
16.5K children receive care, learning, nutrition, and other services at no cost through Early Head Start/Head Start (or 9% of those eligible for Early Head Start and 26% of those eligible for Head Start).
And 99.9K working families have the cost of their child care offset through the Child + Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC).
However, many working parents still struggle to access affordable, quality child care, which costs the state’s economy an estimated $3.3 billion each year in lost earnings and productivity.
Arizona: In The Headlines
New study shows child care takes up roughly a quarter of family budgets
AZ Family | January 19, 2026
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines child care as “affordable” when it costs no more than 7% of a family’s total income.
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.
Child care crisis’ costs Arizona $3.3 billion annually, new report says
KJZZ | March 16, 2026
Arizona loses billions of dollars every year due to what’s being labeled a “child care” crisis by a group of business leaders who’ve been studying the issue for nearly a decade.
Arizona Resources & News
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