Washington State Childcare Need And Supply Estimates By Age Group

Washington state data estimates childcare demand and supply gaps for children from infancy through age 12. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) estimates families of about 293,000 pre-school children and over 491,000 school-age children need care, with licensed or subsidized services meeting only 27% and 12% of that need respectively. The dataset was last updated in September 2025.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between `State Median Income Bracket` and `Percent Need Met` across different `Geographic Unit` areas.
• Identify counties with high `Estimate of Unserved` children within specific `Age Group` categories for targeted intervention planning.
• Compare `Estimated Children Receiving Childcare` against `Private Care Estimate` to assess the role of public subsidies in different regions.
• Model `Percent Need Met` as a function of `Geographic Unit` and `Age Group` to predict areas with the largest service gaps.

Strengths

• Provides concrete statewide estimates for over 784,000 children in need of childcare.
• Includes multiple geographic granularities via `Geographic Unit`, `Geographic Name`, and `Geographic ID`.
• Disaggregates data by `Age Group` and `State Median Income Bracket` for detailed analysis.

Limitations

• Exact row count and sample size for the underlying estimates are not provided.
• Data is based on DCYF estimates and models, not a direct census of all families.
• The `Percent Need Met` calculation methodology is not detailed in the provided description.

Provenance

Source

Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

Collection Method

DCYF estimates based on modeling of childcare need and supply.

Freshness

Last updated September 2025.

Geography

Washington state, with sub-state `Geographic Unit` breakdowns.