Childcare Need and Supply Estimates by County and Income Level

Statewide estimates from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) indicate families of about 305,000 children aged B-5 not yet in school need child care. The data, hosted on data.wa.gov, shows only about 34% of those children are enrolled in licensed care or preschool, with the percent of need met varying widely across the state. It was last updated on September 26, 2025.

Use Cases

• Analyze geographic disparities in childcare access by comparing PK_Estimated Need Met and IT_Estimated Need Met across different Area_Name values.
• Model the relationship between community income levels (Income Level) and the supply of childcare slots (Total_Slots, infant_toddler_slots, prek_slots).
• Calculate unmet need for specific age groups by subtracting enrolled slots from estimated demand (Total_Need, infant_toddler_need, prek_need).

Strengths

• Includes a statewide estimate of 305,000 children under 5 needing care.
• Provides breakdowns for infant/toddler and pre-K age groups across multiple columns.
• Contains geographic identifiers (child_geo_id, Area_Name) enabling county-level analysis.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), via data.wa.gov.

Collection Method

Likely contains administrative estimates and survey data compiled by the state agency.

Freshness

Last updated 2025-09-26 20:16:33; freshness should be verified.

Geography

State of Washington, with county-level breakdowns suggested by the Area_Name column.