2021 Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey
In this 2021 Texas Child Care Market Rate survey report, explore the rates charged to the general public (or the “market rate”) for child care between October 2020 and July 2021. The report summarizes child care market rate data for the entire state of Texas and each of its 28 local workforce development areas during this time period.
Every year, the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing and the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas at Austin undertake the Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey as contracted by the Texas Workforce Commission.
In this 2021 report, as in previous years, market rates for child care are estimated using a combination of survey data and Texas Workforce Commission administrative record data on published rates of providers who accept subsidies. Three types of child care facilities were surveyed: licensed child care centers, registered homes, and licensed homes.
Compared to the previous year, across facility types and age groups, estimated median daily rates were found to increase by about 7.9%, or about $1.81 per day when compared to 2020 median rates. Market rates for child care have been increasing above the normal rate of inflation since 2020, compared to a typical child care inflation rate in Texas of two to five percent per year. Given the dramatic upheavel in the child care market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including a significant number of facilities no longer apparently licensed to care for children, a seven or eight percent increase in rates is not surprising.
2021 Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey Final Report (PDF)
Supplemental Report (PDF)
Supplemental Report (Excel)
Supplemental Report – Expanded Percentiles (PDF)