Why Massachusetts childcare still squeezes family budgets

Despite adding more than 45,000 childcare slots since 2021, Massachusetts families still struggle to afford care. The state now leads the nation in reducing childcare deserts, yet center-based care consumes about 12 percent of a working parent's income on average—nearly double the federal affordability benchmark—while more than 30,000 subsidized children remained on waitlists at the end of 2025.

Key Takeaways

• Massachusetts added more than 45,000 child care seats since its 2021 pandemic low and now has the fewest childcare deserts of any U.S. state.
• Infant care remains the sharpest gap: roughly 70 percent of infants and 43 percent of toddlers live in childcare deserts despite statewide expansion.
• Center-based care consumes about 12 percent of a full-time working parent's income on average, nearly double the seven percent federal affordability benchmark.
• More than 30,000 children remained on Massachusetts childcare subsidy waitlists at the end of 2025, even as roughly 66,000 received assistance.
• A 2022 Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation analysis estimated inadequate childcare costs the state economy nearly $3 billion annually.

Why is childcare still unaffordable in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into early education and care over the past five years—and the results show. Programs like the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grant and the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative helped the state add more than 45,000 child care seats since its pandemic low in 2021. An analysis by the Center for American Progress, released earlier this month, found Massachusetts has the fewest child care deserts of any state in the nation.

Over the last decade, the share of Massachusetts children living in childcare deserts—areas with more than three young children per licensed slot—fell from more than half to roughly one-fifth. When the Center for American Progress first measured deserts nationwide in 2018, Massachusetts trailed 33 states including Maine, Connecticut, and Vermont. Today, only Washington, D.C. has fewer childcare deserts.

Yet Massachusetts also has some of the highest childcare costs in the nation, making it difficult for many families to access the slots the state has funded. Research from Boston University's Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development found that center-based care consumes about 12 percent of a full-time working parent's income on average—nearly double the federal affordability benchmark of seven percent.

The burden is heavier for low-income families. Researchers found center-based care can consume as much as 35 percent of a low-income worker's annual income. Black and Hispanic families face particularly steep barriers, with 85 percent and 92 percent respectively exceeding the affordability threshold. For households juggling rent, groceries, and savings goals, these numbers explain why family budgeting strategies alone rarely close the childcare gap.

How did Massachusetts expand childcare access so quickly?

The progress can be largely attributed to large investments in early education and care, according to Marybeth Brown, assistant program director at Seven Hills Child Care Resources, which helps connect families with child care services. Funding for the Department of Early Education and Care increased by 125 percent between 2020 and 2025, helping support providers and expand capacity.

Those investments helped rebuild a system weakened by the pandemic, when the number of child care seats dropped to roughly 200,000. By early 2025, Massachusetts had added enough seats to exceed its pre-pandemic capacity by more than 22,000 slots. Amy Kershaw, commissioner of the Department of Early Education and Care, attributed the state's progress to increased funding and a coordinated strategy focused on affordability, provider stability, and workforce development.

A major part of that strategy has been the C3 grant program. Originally funded with federal pandemic relief, the grants became fully state funded in 2024 and are provided to licensed child care providers to invest in their workforce and limit tuition increases. A fall 2024 survey by the department found programs used nearly 70 percent of C3 funding to increase employee compensation and other workforce expenses, helping reduce turnover in a field known for high attrition.

Workplace turnover among child care providers decreased from 32 to 26 percent between 2022 and 2024. The administration has also introduced priority status for subsidized childcare vouchers for early educators and the Early Childhood Educator Loan Repayment Program, launched in March 2026, to strengthen the workforce further.

Why is infant care the biggest gap in Massachusetts?

Despite Massachusetts's strong overall numbers, the tension is especially acute for families with infants. Child care regulations require lower teacher-to-child ratios for infants, driving higher staffing costs. According to state data released in 2025, just 5 percent of preschoolers live in a childcare desert—but approximately 70 percent of infants and 43 percent of toddlers do.

"Infant care is typically the most expensive form of child care, yet families often need it at a time when parents are earning the lowest salaries," said Amy O'Leary, director of Early Education for All, a campaign of Strategies for Children. "At the same time, providers face a difficult reality: Infant care is one of the most costly programs to deliver. The result is a system where infant care is expensive for families to afford and challenging for programs to sustain."

For new parents returning to work, the mismatch between peak need and peak expense creates a financial cliff. Even families who qualify for subsidies may wait months for a slot, forcing difficult choices between career momentum and caregiving.

What does the subsidy backlog mean for families?

Providers say the state's challenge has shifted from creating capacity to funding access. Roughly 66,000 children receive subsidies through Massachusetts's Child Care Financial Assistance program, but more than 30,000 children remained on subsidy waitlists at the end of 2025. Kim Dion, assistant vice president at Seven Hills Foundation, said that even with additional subsidy funding, gaps would remain. "We may have the least number of child care deserts, but we certainly don't have room for every child."

Brown credits increased reimbursement rates—now based on the true cost of care rather than market survey rates—with giving providers more stable income. Yet the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation reports that center-based early education teachers still earn about $5,000 less annually than early-career K-12 public school teachers, keeping recruitment challenging even as turnover improves.

The consequences extend beyond individual households. A 2022 MTF analysis estimated that inadequate childcare costs the state's economy nearly $3 billion annually through lost earnings, lower productivity, higher employee turnover, and reduced tax revenues. When parents cannot find or afford reliable care, workforce participation suffers.

"Massachusetts has increased child care investments markedly, and you see the impacts of that in both child care quantity and quality," said Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "However, there remains more to be done in terms of increasing access and maximizing child care in order to enable the workforce to succeed in the Commonwealth's economy."

For families watching tuition bills climb despite statewide expansion, the lesson is clear: more seats do not automatically mean affordable childcare. Until subsidy waitlists shrink and infant care deserts narrow, Massachusetts's progress will remain uneven—and household budgets will keep feeling the squeeze.